OpenAI hires Cooley and Wachtell law firms to prepare for IPO, with the listing potentially happening as early as this year.

OpenAI Takes a Major Step Toward Going Public, Hires Top Law Firms to Prepare for IPO, AI Giant Enters Countdown to Market Launch.

According to the latest report from The Information, sources familiar with the matter reveal that OpenAI has hired law firms Cooley and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz to prepare for its initial public offering (IPO). The listing could happen as early as the fourth quarter of this year.

Choosing law firms is typically an early stage in the IPO process, followed by appointing investment banks as advisors. In the current funding round, OpenAI’s pre-money valuation has reached $730 billion. If successful, this will be one of the largest IPOs in history, giving ordinary investors a chance to share in the AI boom.

Executives privately express optimism about the company’s potential IPO and ongoing investments by industry giants

OpenAI executives privately state that the company could go public as soon as the fourth quarter of this year and are laying the groundwork for it. This process usually involves legal preparations and extensive negotiations with securities regulators.

Market expectations for OpenAI and its competitor Anthropic have been brewing for months. On Wednesday, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang, a key partner of OpenAI, revealed important clues during the Morgan Stanley investor conference in San Francisco.

Nvidia has invested $30 billion in OpenAI during the current funding round, but Huang indicated that the previous $100 billion investment plan “may not be realized” because “they are about to go public.”

Additionally, Amazon has committed an initial $15 billion investment in OpenAI during this funding round and stated that, under certain conditions including a public listing, it may add another $35 billion “in the coming months.”

Law Firm Background and Competitor Activity

The two law firms chosen by OpenAI have previously handled some legal matters for the company. Wachtell, based in New York, has been involved in several acquisitions, including last year’s $6.5 billion purchase of Jony Ive’s io products and an $1.1 billion acquisition of the startup Statsig, which specializes in product analytics.

Cooley is known for assisting tech companies like Nvidia and Snowflake with IPO preparations. Earlier, the UK Financial Times reported that OpenAI was in negotiations with Cooley, but no final decision had been confirmed.

Notably, sources also reveal that OpenAI’s competitor Anthropic has hired Wilson Sonsini to prepare for a potential public offering.

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