OpenAI & Anthropic Could Be the Biggest IPOs in History. These Stocks Put You in Position Today
March 17, 7:55 am
The 2026 tech IPO calendar may be the most consequential in market history. OpenAI is targeting a $1 trillion valuation and Anthropic is currently valued at $380 billion — together, nearly $1.4 trillion in private AI market cap poised to go public within months of each other.
OpenAI is in informal talks with Wall Street banks about a potential IPO, has recently hired a new chief accounting officer and business finance officer to oversee investor relations, and is targeting a listing before year-end. On the Anthropic side, the company hired Wilson Sonsini — the law firm that guided the IPOs of Google and LinkedIn — to begin legal and banking preparations. Anthropic reported roughly $9 billion in annual recurring revenue in 2025, with projections of $20 billion this year and as much as $70 billion by 2028.
But before either company rings a single opening bell, a group of publicly traded companies are already positioned to capture enormous value from both. Here's who they are and why.
Microsoft
Microsoft's relationship with OpenAI is the most structurally significant strategic partnership in modern tech history. The restructuring of OpenAI gave Microsoft a 27% stake valued at approximately $135 billion, with IP rights to OpenAI's models extending through 2032. Microsoft has also invested $5 billion in Anthropic — so regardless of which AI lab wins, Microsoft collects from both sides.
OpenAI has committed to purchasing $250 billion in Azure services as part of its restructured partnership — meaning every dollar OpenAI raises in an IPO is likely to cycle back through Microsoft's cloud.
⚡ Investor Thesis
Microsoft is the single most direct public-market proxy for OpenAI's success. An IPO at $1 trillion would send its $135 billion stake into territory that could materially move even Microsoft's own $3 trillion market cap.
Google holds approximately a 10–14% stake in Anthropic, making it one of the most valuable equity positions in the private AI market. Anthropic's decision to train next-generation models on Google's TPUs strengthens Google Cloud's competitive position — and there's a rich irony: two of Google Cloud's marquee customers are OpenAI and Anthropic, the very companies that were supposedly going to sap the life from Google Search.
Anthropic expects to pay Amazon, Google, and Microsoft at least $80 billion to run Claude on their cloud servers through 2029, with resale partner payouts rising to as much as $6.4 billion in 2027. Google captures a significant slice of that revenue stream.
⚡ Investor Thesis
A successful Anthropic IPO unlocks a stake that could be worth $38–53 billion on Google's books, while simultaneously validating Google Cloud as a tier-one AI infrastructure platform.
AltIndex Insight: Google (GOOG) currently has an AI score of 54 (neutral). There's solid Anthropic equity upside, but AI competitive pressure on Search remains a structural overhang that tempers the score.
Amazon
Amazon (AMZN) has made the boldest financial commitment of any public company in the AI race. It has invested $8 billion into Anthropic since 2023, including an $11 billion data center campus in Indiana called Project Rainier. Anthropic's Claude models now power Amazon products including Rufus and Alexa+.
Then in February 2026, Amazon struck a deal with OpenAI as well — a $50 billion investment and a $100 billion cloud services agreement establishing AWS as a primary infrastructure partner. Critically, Amazon's investment agreement contains a clause requiring it to buy every remaining share of its committed stake within weeks of a confidential OpenAI IPO filing with the SEC. An IPO filing would directly trigger a mandatory Amazon capital injection.
⚡ Investor Thesis
Amazon holds equity upside in both major AI labs, earns massive cloud hosting revenue from both, and is validating its custom Trainium silicon through Anthropic's training commitments.
Nvidia
Nvidia's GPUs account for more than 80% of AI accelerator sales, and its full-stack strategy gives it durable competitive advantage. Beyond supplying hardware, Nvidia (NVDA) is now a direct stakeholder: it plans to invest up to $30 billion in OpenAI and has committed up to $10 billion in Anthropic as part of Anthropic's February 2026 funding round.
Oracle has purchased about $40 billion worth of Nvidia chips to build a data center for OpenAI as part of the Stargate project. When OpenAI and Anthropic raise hundreds of billions at IPO, Nvidia sits directly in the path of the capital spending that follows.
⚡ Investor Thesis
Every dollar OpenAI or Anthropic raises in an IPO is a down payment on future GPU purchases. Nvidia is the ultimate leveraged play on AI IPO capital formation.
CoreWeave
CoreWeave's total value of contracts with OpenAI is valued around $22.4 billion, making it one of the most direct revenue beneficiaries of OpenAI's compute spending. CoreWeave went public in March 2025, raising $1.5 billion at $40 per share. Its primary business — renting GPU clusters to AI companies — means that every dollar OpenAI or Anthropic raises translates into potential CoreWeave revenue.
⚡ Investor Thesis
CoreWeave is the closest thing to a pure-play on the AI compute buildout. An OpenAI IPO that accelerates infrastructure spending would be a direct revenue catalyst.
AltIndex Insight: CoreWeave currently has an AI score of 70 (bullish). Our model rates CoreWeave favorably given its direct OpenAI revenue exposure, and headcount data from LinkedIn points to a company growing to keep up with demand.
Oracle
Oracle (ORCL) rarely gets top billing in AI conversations, but it is one of the most direct financial beneficiaries of the OpenAI ecosystem. Oracle purchased about $40 billion worth of Nvidia chips to build a data center for OpenAI as a core component of the Stargate project. Its recent SEC filings show capital expenditures of $39 billion in the most recent period, up from $12 billion a year prior — a direct reflection of the AI infrastructure boom.
⚡ Investor Thesis
Oracle is often overlooked as an AI play, which may make it one of the more attractively priced ways to gain exposure to OpenAI's infrastructure buildout.
AltIndex Insight: ORCL is down roughly 49% from its September 2025 peak as the market weighs whether Oracle over-committed on AI infrastructure.
The Bottom Line
OpenAI and Anthropic going public would be landmark events — but both companies are still burning cash, with profitability years away and IPO floats likely to be deliberately small. Buying in on day one carries real risk of volatility and inflated pricing.
The more durable opportunity is already trading. The six companies covered here hold documented equity in one or both AI labs, earn infrastructure revenue that grows with every dollar OpenAI and Anthropic spend, and give investors liquid exposure without the lock-up risk of a high-hype debut. Of the group, CoreWeave (CRWV, score: 70) is the most concentrated bet on the theme — its revenue is directly tied to OpenAI's compute spending. Microsoft and Google offer the broadest equity stakes; Amazon uniquely holds positions in both labs with contractual IPO-triggered capital obligations.
The IPO bell will ring. The question is whether you're already positioned when it does.
Disclaimer: The information provided is for educational and informational purposes only and should not be construed as financial or investment advice. All investments involve risk, and you should conduct your own research or consult a qualified professional before making any investment decisions.
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