OpenAI Says It Could Be Ready for an IPO in 2027 as Enterprise Revenue Takes the Lead

OpenAI president Greg Brockman said the company could be ready to go public in 2027, signaling that the maker of ChatGPT is thinking seriously about an eventual initial public offering as its business shifts toward enterprise customers. The comment, made at a Wall Street Journal tech conference on Nov. 5, came as Brockman described stronger financial momentum after a difficult start to 2026.

What Brockman said

Brockman did not announce an IPO or commit OpenAI to a timetable, but he was unusually direct about the company’s readiness. According to TechCrunch, he said OpenAI could be IPO-ready in 2027 and that the company wants to go public when the timing is right. Bernama, which covered the remarks from Wall Street Journal Tech: California, also reported that Brockman said OpenAI would be ready for an IPO in 2027.

“I think so. Yes.”

That was Brockman’s answer, as reported by TechCrunch, when asked whether OpenAI could be ready for a listing in 2027. He also said, “We’ve been very clear this year that we want to go public when we feel is the right time for us,” underscoring that the company is treating an eventual public market debut as a matter of timing rather than a fixed promise.

Why it matters

An OpenAI IPO would be one of the most closely watched listings in the AI sector, not only because of the company’s size and visibility, but because it could reframe how investors judge the business. OpenAI has long been viewed primarily through the lens of ChatGPT and consumer adoption. Brockman’s remarks suggest a different narrative is taking hold: OpenAI is increasingly presenting itself as a company with enterprise revenue strength, business customers and a path toward public-market discipline.

That shift matters for three reasons. First, public investors would likely scrutinize the company’s revenue mix, margins, capital needs and growth rate in a way private markets have not. Second, enterprise demand gives OpenAI a more conventional software-sales story than a purely consumer chatbot business. Third, any move toward an IPO would place OpenAI in direct comparison with other AI companies chasing the same corporate spending budgets, including Anthropic.

How the revenue story has changed

The clearest sign of that shift is the company’s enterprise business. TechCrunch reported that Brockman said OpenAI’s enterprise business doubled, and that enterprise now provides most of OpenAI’s revenue. Yahoo Finance framed the development as OpenAI signaling it is revenue-ready for a 2027 IPO, and said a majority of OpenAI revenue now comes from enterprise sales.

That is a notable change from the earlier mix Brockman described. According to TechCrunch, OpenAI previously got about 30% of revenue from enterprise. He said consumer revenue still grew, but enterprise growth drove the shift in the company’s revenue base.

What changed in 2026?

OpenAI’s story this year was not a straight line upward. Brockman said the company’s first two quarters of 2026 were rough, and TechCrunch noted that OpenAI was not part of the agentic coding conversation earlier in the year. By the third quarter, however, the numbers Brockman cited were much stronger.

According to TechCrunch, OpenAI saw 70% quarterly growth in annualized revenue in Q3 2026. That growth rate, paired with the reported doubling of the enterprise business, appears to have given Brockman confidence that the company has moved into a more stable commercial phase. Bernama likewise said OpenAI has made major progress this year and identified the company as the maker of ChatGPT.

Background: from ChatGPT sensation to enterprise pitch

OpenAI’s public image was built on consumer excitement. Bernama noted that the company launched ChatGPT in late November 2022 and that it reached its first million users in less than a week. That kind of viral adoption made OpenAI the face of the generative AI boom, but it also risked locking the company into a narrow identity: a product company famous for a chatbot.

Now Brockman’s comments suggest OpenAI wants the market to see something larger. Enterprise AI sales usually mean companies pay for business tools, API access or developer products. That model is typically more predictable than consumer usage alone, because it can turn the AI platform into recurring corporate spending. The fact that OpenAI’s enterprise business has reportedly doubled, and now accounts for most revenue, implies a broader commercial base than the launch of ChatGPT alone would suggest.

What Brockman said about customer relationships

TechCrunch reported that Brockman pointed to a J.P. Morgan Chase partnership as an example of enterprise traction. He also said OpenAI has learned how to help clients define business milestones and build trust. In practical terms, that means the company is no longer selling only a model or a chatbot interface; it is selling a business outcome and, at least in Brockman’s telling, helping customers map AI adoption to measurable internal goals.

That is a subtle but important shift. The more OpenAI can show that clients are using its products to meet concrete milestones, the easier it becomes to argue that revenue is durable, not experimental. For public investors, that difference can matter as much as headline growth.

How does this compare with the rest of the AI market?

OpenAI’s trajectory invites comparison with Anthropic, one of the company’s closest competitors in the enterprise AI space. The fact sheet does not provide hard numbers for Anthropic, but it does say OpenAI’s enterprise momentum should be viewed alongside Anthropic’s position. That comparison is important because both companies are trying to persuade businesses that AI can be embedded in daily workflows, not just used as a novelty.

The mention of agentic coding is also telling. TechCrunch said OpenAI was not part of the agentic coding conversation earlier in 2026, a reminder that the company’s position in a fast-moving market can change quickly. By late 2026, Brockman was portraying OpenAI as a company that had rebounded strongly and had something more concrete to show than early hype.

By the numbers

Several figures from the remarks stand out because they help explain why a 2027 IPO is even on the table.

• 2015 — the year OpenAI was founded.
• Late November 2022 — when ChatGPT launched.
• Less than a week — the time it took ChatGPT to reach its first million users.
• 30% — roughly OpenAI’s former share of revenue from enterprise.
• 70% — quarterly growth in annualized revenue in Q3 2026.
• 2027 — the year Brockman said OpenAI could be IPO-ready.

Those numbers do not prove an IPO is imminent, but they do explain why Brockman’s remarks carried weight. Public listings usually depend on a combination of growth, narrative and timing. In OpenAI’s case, the company appears to be trying to strengthen all three at once.

Why it matters for investors and customers

For investors, an OpenAI IPO would provide a rare public window into a private company that has become central to the AI market. The market would learn more about how much revenue comes from enterprise contracts, how much still depends on consumer demand, and how quickly the business can scale without losing control of costs. Any listing would likely attract outsized attention because OpenAI sits at the intersection of software, cloud, developer tools and artificial intelligence infrastructure.

For customers, the message is slightly different. A company that is preparing for a public listing tends to think harder about predictability, retention and product discipline. Brockman’s comments about business milestones and trust suggest OpenAI wants enterprises to see it as a long-term partner, not just a frontier-model vendor. That could influence procurement decisions, especially for large companies that need reassurance about continuity and support.

For the wider market, OpenAI’s comments may intensify the pressure on peers to prove their own enterprise traction. If OpenAI can show that enterprise spending now drives most of its revenue, rivals will need to demonstrate why their products deserve similar budget priority.

What the outlets agreed on — and where they differed

TechCrunch, Yahoo Finance and Bernama all pointed to the same basic conclusion: OpenAI is sounding more ready for public markets and more centered on enterprise revenue than it once was. But each outlet framed the story slightly differently.

• TechCrunch focused on Brockman’s remarks at the WSJ tech conference and the company’s revenue growth and enterprise shift.
• Yahoo Finance emphasized the revenue-readiness angle and the fact that a majority of OpenAI revenue now comes from enterprise sales.
• Bernama highlighted the setting at Wall Street Journal Tech: California and placed the comments in the broader context of OpenAI’s progress since ChatGPT’s launch.

The differences are mostly in emphasis, not substance. Together, the reports paint a consistent picture: OpenAI is no longer being described only as a viral consumer app company. It is being discussed as a business with meaningful enterprise revenue and possible public-market ambitions.

What happens next?

OpenAI has not filed for an IPO, and Brockman’s comments stop well short of a formal announcement. The real test will be whether enterprise growth continues through the rest of 2026 and whether the company can maintain that momentum into 2027. The fact sheet also leaves open several questions that investors and customers will watch closely.

1. Whether OpenAI actually pursues an IPO in 2027.
2. Whether enterprise growth continues through the rest of 2026.
3. How OpenAI’s enterprise momentum compares with Anthropic’s position.
4. What OpenAI’s revenue mix looks like by the end of 2026.

Those questions matter because the path to an IPO is not just about being large enough. It is about proving that growth is durable, the business model is understandable and the company can tell a consistent story to public investors. Brockman’s comments suggest OpenAI believes it is moving in that direction. Whether 2027 becomes the year of an actual listing will depend on how the next several quarters unfold.