OpenAI and Anthropic Want What SpaceX Got After Its IPO Despite Billions in Losses

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are actively lobbying major credit rating agencies to grant OpenAI and Anthropic investment-grade credit ratings immediately following their respective initial public offerings. Wall Street underwriters are attempting to use IPO cash reserves as a substitute for profitability, even as both artificial intelligence startups continue to incur substantial multi-billion-dollar operating losses and are not projected to reach breakeven for several years. A key beneficiary of an investment-grade rating for OpenAI would be Nvidia, which previously agreed to backstop up to $105 billion in lease obligations for OpenAI's data center campus in Pike County, Ohio. Under SEC filing terms, Nvidia's guarantee obligations terminate if OpenAI secures an acceptable credit rating, effectively shifting massive AI infrastructure credit risk off corporate balance sheets and onto bond market investors. However, rating agencies have shown resistance, classifying the AI firms as loss-making and speculative-grade borrowers. Markets remain cautious following precedent set by SpaceX's debt offering, where investment-grade notes quickly traded near junk debt spreads amid lingering solvency concerns.