Microsoft (MSFT)-backed artificial intelligence (AI) company OpenAI still wants to go public. This was confirmed by Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar, who said the company could do so through an initial public offering (IPO) thanks to its restructuring plans.
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OpenAI has decided to shift from a nonprofit to a public benefit corporation. Doing so would allow the company to publicly list its shares. OpenAI has wanted to shift to being a for-profit company for months now but has held off in the face of resistance from some of its original investors, including Elon Musk.
The OpenAI CFO said, “A PBC gets us to an IPO-able event … if and when we want to.”
When Will OpenAI Go Public?
Friar was clear that OpenAI won’t necessarily go public. Instead, the company is making the change so that the option is available to it. She said any plans for an IPO would be contingent on the company and markets being in the right place for an offering. Otherwise, OpenAI will continue to operate its for-profit division as a private business.
How to Invest in OpenAI
OpenAI may not have shares publicly traded, but there are other ways to gain exposure to it. Several companies, such as Microsoft with $13 billion committed to the company, have made large investments in the ChatGPT developer, resulting in $57.9 billion raised and a $300 billion valuation.
Three of the biggest investors in OpenAI are Microsoft, Nvidia (NVDA), and SoftBank (SFTBY). To gain exposure to OpenAI, investors might consider a stake in these stocks. Both MSFT and NVDA have consensus Strong Buy ratings, with NVDA offering the higher upside potential at 21.38%, compared to MSFT’s 11.86%. However, Microsoft’s average price target of $514.07 is higher than Nvidia’s $164.21.
Investors will also note that SoftBank led a recent $40 billion round of funding in OpenAI, joined by Microsoft and several investment firms.
