2026 美股 IPO 盛宴：SpaceX、OpenAI 領銜 600 億狂潮

2026 US stock IPOs are expected to explode, with 200 to 230 companies going public and raising $40 billion to $60 billion. Led by AI unicorns such as SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic, and others, followed by major cryptocurrency giants. The AI arms race is driving a surge in capital demand.

SpaceX Valuation Breaks $200 Billion Leading Tech IPO Wave

Elon Musk’s business empire’s two main pillars, SpaceX and xAI, are seen as the most significant targets in the 2026 US stock IPO market. SpaceX’s latest valuation has surpassed $200 billion, and if successfully listed, it will become one of the largest tech IPOs in recent years. The company dominates the global commercial space launch market, with its Starlink satellite network already profitable, paving the way for a listing. xAI is Musk’s new AI startup challenging OpenAI, with its Grok chatbot positioned as an “unbiased” conversational AI free from political correctness, attracting conservative users.

Rumors of OpenAI’s IPO continue to ferment. Although CEO Sam Altman has repeatedly stated that “no timetable has been set,” the market generally believes the company faces significant capital pressure. Training GPT-5 is expected to cost billions of dollars, and its complex equity structure with Microsoft also needs to be clarified through an IPO. If OpenAI goes public at its current valuation of $157 billion, it will set a record for AI company IPO valuations.

Anthropic, a direct competitor to OpenAI founded by former OpenAI VP of Research Dario Amodei, focuses on “explainable AI” and safety. The company has received over $7 billion in investments from giants like Google and Salesforce, with a valuation of $18 billion. Anthropic’s Claude model is widely adopted in the enterprise market, and going public will give it more ammunition to compete with OpenAI.

Databricks represents an opportunity in the AI infrastructure layer. This data and AI platform company is valued at $62 billion, serving over 10,000 enterprise clients. Its advantage lies in integrating data warehousing with AI training platforms, enabling companies to develop their own AI models more efficiently. If successfully listed, it will become the most important cloud data platform IPO after Snowflake.

AI Arms Race Drives Explosive Capital Demand Growth

Jordi Visser, Director of Macro Research at 22V Research, pointed out in a report: “Leading private high-growth companies like xAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX also face enormous capital needs, so the public markets are likely to become their financing channel. The result could be a wave of large IPOs in the next 12 to 18 months.”

This capital demand stems from the “arms race” nature of the AI industry. Training large language models requires astronomical computing power, with costs for a single model training reaching $100 million to $1 billion. OpenAI CEO Altman revealed that training GPT-4 cost over $100 million, and next-generation models may require billions of dollars. This level of capital intensity far exceeds that of the past software industry, forcing AI companies to seek larger-scale financing channels.

More importantly, competitive pressure is intense. Tech giants like NVIDIA, Microsoft, Google, and Meta leverage their strong capital advantages to continuously invest hundreds of billions of dollars in AI R&D. Startups must secure ongoing funding from public markets to stay competitive. Renaissance Capital analyst said: “We expect the IPO boom supported by venture capital last year to continue, especially as more AI-related companies mature and seek to meet the growing demand from public investors.”

Most Anticipated US Stock IPO Candidates in 2026

AI and Data Sector: OpenAI (valuation $157 billion), Anthropic ($18 billion), Databricks ($62 billion), Cerebras (AI chip manufacturer), Cohesity (data management), Lambda Labs (AI infrastructure)

Aerospace and Hard Tech: SpaceX ($200 billion), Relativity Space (3D-printed rockets)

Cryptocurrency Sector: Consensys (Ethereum infrastructure)

Fintech: Circle Internet Group (stablecoin issuer), Chime (digital bank), Klarna (buy now, pay later)

Enterprise Software: Figma (design collaboration, valuation $20 billion), Discord (communication platform, valuation $15 billion)

Private Equity Exit Window Reopens After Three Years

The successful IPO of medical supplies manufacturer Medline in 2025 provides an important template for PE-backed companies. The company went public before Christmas, with its stock price rising over 40% above the offering price. In 2021, Blackstone, KKR, and Hellman & Friedman purchased a majority stake in Medline. This successful exit demonstrates that even traditional industry private investments can gain public market recognition if valuations are reasonable and performance is solid.

This is significant for the private equity industry. From 2022 to 2024, the IPO market was sluggish, hindering private funds’ exit opportunities, and many mature assets could not be monetized. EquityZen researchers noted: “Our 2026 list includes some of the most innovative sectors in the market. These are leading companies in high-growth fields, all of which have achieved significant revenue growth during their private market phase and have solidified their market positions.”

Mergermarket, a data provider for M&A markets, said: “The next few years could mark the beginning of the most exciting private companies heading toward the public markets globally. These companies are industry leaders expected to dominate global business in the coming years.”

However, risks remain. The 2025 IPO market experienced setbacks, including market volatility related to “D-Day” tariffs and a government shutdown in the fall, which temporarily stalled new stock issuance activities. Renaissance Capital analysts warned: “Due to volatility caused by tariffs, ongoing government shutdowns, and a late-year correction in AI concept stocks, market expectations for a full recovery have been disappointed.” The activity level of the IPO market is closely tied to the overall stock market performance. If significant market volatility occurs in 2026, listing plans may be delayed.