Musk loses OpenAI trial. ChatGPT owner now eyes blockbuster IPO

A federal jury dismissed Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI on statute-of-limitations grounds, removing a major legal overhang and clearing a path toward what could be a record tech IPO. Banks including Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan and Morgan Stanley are in talks to advise a listing, with a regulatory filing targeted in H2 and a Q4 2026 debut still the stated ambition (CFO privately flags 2027 as more realistic). Market attention will focus on OpenAI’s massive size—$122bn raised at an >$850bn valuation, $25bn annualised revenue—and on structural risks: $1.15tn of long-term infrastructure commitments, projected $57bn annual cash burn by 2027 and no expected profitability until 2030. The verdict shifts the governance and mission questions from the courtroom to investors and the IPO prospectus; markets will need to price both the upside of dominant AI positioning and the heavy spending and governance uncertainties.