OpenAI IPO May Be Delayed to 2027, SoftBank’s AI Bet Faces Valuation Test, Shares Plunge 12%

TradingKey - According to media reports, OpenAI is considering delaying its planned initial public offering until next year to seek a higher valuation and wait for a more favorable market environment. Reports suggest that OpenAI's advisors have presented two options to management: launch the IPO as soon as possible while accepting a lower valuation, or wait until 2027 to push forward with the listing to target a valuation of up to $1 trillion.

Currently, OpenAI has not officially confirmed any IPO delay. Previously, the company confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO, making it another major AI model developer preparing to go public, following Anthropic. However, recent heightened volatility in AI tech stocks, sluggish performance of some newly listed shares, and mounting market concerns over the return on AI capital expenditures have injected more uncertainty into OpenAI's listing timeline.

For capital markets, OpenAI's IPO is not only one of the most highly watched funding events in the AI industry, but is also directly tied to the asset revaluation of key investors like Microsoft and SoftBank. Especially for SoftBank Group, which has significantly ramped up its bets in recent years on AI and data centers, including OpenAI and Arm ( ARM ), a delayed listing of OpenAI could postpone the timeline for its investment returns to become tangible.

At SoftBank Group's annual shareholders' meeting, founder Masayoshi Son continued to robustly defend the long-term AI narrative. He stated that AI is still in its infancy, dismissing talk of an AI bubble as an underestimation of its potential. Son emphasized that the potential of AI is only beginning to be unlocked, and SoftBank will continue to position itself around OpenAI, robotics, data centers, and energy infrastructure.

Son also reiterated his vision of 'Artificial Superintelligence,' stating that his goal is to drive the birth of AI that is 10,000 times smarter than humans. Meanwhile, he likened SoftBank Group to 'the goose that lays golden eggs,' believing the market has yet to fully reflect the value of SoftBank's assets, and noting that a significant discount still exists between the company's market capitalization and its asset value.

SoftBank stock price performance, Source: FUTUBULL

However, short-term market reaction has not been optimistic. In morning trading on June 26, SoftBank Group's stock price fell sharply, dropping over 12% to 6,246 yen as of press time.