OpenAI Is One Step Closer to Becoming a Public Company

It’s no secret that AI has been a driving force of more than just conversation this year, and one of the companies at the heart of it has been OpenAI. It has grown the capabilities of ChatGPT by a considerable degree compared to two years ago, and the company has also raised a considerable amount of capital, which has helped fund many of the tie-ups and partnerships that have been in the news of late.

Odds are OpenAI will need to raise more capital over time, but there was one development over the weekend that points to it being one step closer to eventually becoming a public traded company. SoftBank approved a second installment of $22.5 billion to complete its $30 billion investment in OpenAI. SoftBank’s investment comes with the condition that OpenAI must complete a corporate restructuring that would allow it to transition into a for-profit entity, setting the stage for an eventual IPO.

Back in September, OpenAI and Microsoft (MSFT) signed a non-binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) to revise the terms of their partnership. The new agreement was intended to provide OpenAI with more flexibility for its restructuring and commercial plans. That was one of the first steps toward the path that would lead to OpenAI becoming a public company.

As we see it, given the amount of capital raised from the likes of Microsoft, Nvidia (NVDA) , Softbank, Thrive Capital, Sequoia, and a host of others, which has led to OpenAI’s valuation of $500 billion, means that at some point, those investors will need a monetization event. Given the size of its valuation, the logical path would be an IPO.

That eventual transaction should benefit our position in SuRo Capital (SSSS) . You’ll remember that when SuRo delivered its preliminary Q3 2025 portfolio update, it marked the base of its OpenAI investment at $300 billion. The reason being, OpenAI had yet to close its latest funding round. Color SuRo conservative, but it means that when it discusses its September-quarter results in the coming weeks, it will likely shed more light on where its net asset value per share stands today. That’s the reason we lifted our SSSS price target to $12 from $10 earlier this month.

But our SSSS shares aren’t likely to be the only beneficiary.

With the potential size of OpenAI’s eventual IPO, chances are it will utilize a few investment banks to lead the transaction. If we had to speculate on which three investment banks would be in the catbird seat, it would be Goldman Sachs (GS) , JPMorgan Chase (JPM) , and our own Morgan Stanley (MS) . And the potential OpenAI IPO would be a big boost to their investment banking revenue.

To be clear, we aren’t going to “count our OpenAI chickens” just yet. After all, the company still has to complete its restructuring, but because of the conditions that came with Softbank’s latest investment slug suggest, we’re getting closer to seeing that happen.

That would be a nice nod for our SSSS and MS shares. While we have a full plate of MS shares right now, we have room to add to the Pro Portfolio’s SSSS position, and yes, we are keeping a close watch on it with that in mind.

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At the time of publication, TheStreet Pro Portfolio was long SSSS and MS.