SpaceX is moving forward with its plan to go public this summer after founder Elon Musk lost a court case to OpenAI, a close competitor to his artificial intelligence company, xAI.
Musk’s aerospace business submitted a securities filing on Wednesday ahead of an initial public offering that may be unveiled in June. The historic IPO would enable Musk to become the world’s first trillionaire. As of Wednesday, his net worth is over $807 billion.
The latest filing does not show how much money SpaceX aims to raise from investors in the offering, but previous reporting has revealed it could be as much as $80 billion. It would likely become the largest IPO, surpassing the 2020 debut of Saudi Aramco on the public market, with $29.4 billion raised from investors.
Goldman Sachs is leading the SpaceX offering, followed by Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase.
SpaceX says it intends to trade on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol SPCX, according to the filing. The company is looking to go public on June 12.
After the blockbuster IPO comes to fruition, SpaceX says Musk will hold 85% voting control over the company and serve as its CEO, chairman, and chief technology officer.
Musk’s AI firm, xAI, is wrapped up in SpaceX, helping raise the combined entity’s market valuation to as much as $2 trillion. Earlier this month, Musk said xAI will no longer be considered a separate company after it was acquired by SpaceX.
Musk remains committed to his AI venture, especially after he was dealt a court loss against OpenAI this week.
The case stemmed from Musk’s claims that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman prioritized profit over the company’s original humanitarian mission. The two started the organization together in 2015, but Musk left three years later over their differing visions.
After the jury trial ended in a loss for Musk, he vowed to appeal the verdict.
Monday’s ruling allowed Altman to keep running OpenAI, which will retain its for-profit model. It also emboldened the ChatGPT developer to pursue an IPO of its own.
OpenAI is planning to file for one as soon as Friday, the Wall Street Journal reported. The timing suggests the company may be trying to beat SpaceX to going public, or at least steal its thunder.
MUSK LOSES CASE AGAINST SAM ALTMAN OVER OPENAI MISSION
“Getting to public markets first is very important, given this arms race going on,” Wall Street technology analyst Dan Ives told CNBC. “It sets a valuation, you’re the first one to meet with investors on the road, and there’s an advantage.”
SpaceX is reportedly aiming to go on the road by June 8 to market the offering to investors, so it’s unlikely OpenAI could secure an IPO before its competitor in the next two to three weeks. SpaceX first indicated it was going public in early April.