1 hour ago
34
Two of the most valuable private companies on Earth are headed for the public markets, and San Francisco is bracing for an economic sugar rush. Anthropic filed its S-1 on June 1, 2026, following a $65B funding round that valued the company at $965B. OpenAI filed roughly a week later, around June 8, though CEO Sam Altman has since ruled out a 2026 listing, citing AI safety concerns.
Together, the two IPOs could unlock an estimated $198B in post-tax employee equity. That figure is large enough to theoretically purchase about 29% of all homes in the San Francisco metro area. San Francisco’s Chief Economist projects the IPOs could pump more than $10B in economic activity into the city.
Anthropic is reportedly targeting a mid-October 2026 listing with an eye-watering valuation of roughly $2 trillion. OpenAI, meanwhile, has pushed its timeline to 2027 or later. Altman has framed the delay around safety considerations.
Real estate is already feeling it
High-end home sales in San Francisco have doubled year-over-year in certain market segments since the IPO filings were announced. Secondary market activity for pre-IPO shares in both companies has been robust, as employees and early investors seek liquidity ahead of the public listings.
San Francisco doesn’t levy a local income tax, which means the city’s ability to capture direct tax revenue from the IPO wealth is limited. The $10B in projected economic activity would flow largely through spending, hiring, and business formation rather than through the city’s tax coffers.
What this means for the broader market
Anthropic is also preparing a $15B credit facility, a signal that the company intends to keep spending aggressively on compute infrastructure and model development regardless of public market timing.
Disclosure: This article was edited by Editorial Team. For more information on how we create and review content, see our Editorial Policy.
English (US) ·