These startups look ‘IPO ready,’ and investors are clamoring for them to go public. Will they or won’t they?

Photo: Getty Images

The year 2025 started off red hot for startups going public, then things got complicated. Market froth, tariffs and the longest government shutdown on record combined to throw cold water on the IPO market. But that’s not quelling optimism about 2026.

Despite the hurdles, 2025 was certainly a stronger year for public debuts, with 315 IPOs in the U.S. (versus 225 the year prior) and the outlook on 2026 is bullish as well. There certainly have been some winners that debuted this year. Charming Medical Ltd went public at $4 per share and now trades for close to $30. And JFB Construction Holdings is up more than 375 percent since its March debut.

Chime and Klarna, arguably 2025’s most watched IPOs, have not been as fortunate, both losing more than one-third of their value since debuting. And online design platform Figma saw its IPO soar 250 percent on its first day of trading, but is currently down nearly 70 percent.

So as 2026 draws near, investors are eagerly anticipating several big debuts, including some AI companies. Here’s a look at some that are catching their attention.

Anthropic

The AI startup behind the Claude chatbot (Inc.’s “co-founder of the year” for 2025) hasn’t formally filed any paperwork for an IPO, but in December it engaged law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, which has worked on several major IPOs, according to a report in the Financial Times. Whether that will lead to a public offering is still unclear, but if so, it could be one of the largest of all time, with Anthropic valued at nearly $350 billion. The company, founded by siblings Dario and Daniela Amodei, tells the publication the move was “standard practice for companies operating at our scale,”and no decisions have been made. Should Anthropic IPO, it will be the first major AI company to do so, testing whether investors are willing to put money into an industry that is currently bleeding cash.

SpaceX

Elon Musk has refuted reports that his rocket company was in talks for an $800 billion valuation, but he didn’t dispute recent reports about a potential public listing, raising hopes that 2026 could be the year that SpaceX offers an IPO. The Information reports the company plans to go public in the back half of the year, with satellite service Starlink a part of that offering.

OpenAI

The dominant AI startup has not filed any paperwork and hasn’t spoken much about its IPO plans, but in October, Reuters reported the company could file its S-1 with the SEC by the second half of 2026. San Francisco-based OpenAI is said to be looking to raise $60 billion or more via the IPO, though any talks are early and could change before any filing is made. (CFO Sarah Friar has said an IPO is “not on the cards” in the near term.) OpenAI co-founder and CEO Sam Altman, earlier this month, reportedly directed staff to focus their efforts on improving ChatGPT as Google’s Gemini gains ground among users. An IPO, however, would give the company access to capital to offset current losses. In October, Altman said of an IPO “I think it’s fair to say it is the most likely path for us, given the capital needs that we’ll have.”

Databricks

In February of 2025, Databricks CEO and co-founder Ali Ghodsi said the data and AI company was “IPO-ready” with proper board structure, auditing systems, and financial reporting in place. All it was waiting on was the right market conditions, which most observers believe will happen in 2026. The San Francisco-based company is reportedly in talks to fundraise at a $134 billion valuation. It had been expected to list this year, but those plans were seemingly put on ice as tariffs and the trade war made the stock market especially volatile in April.

Canva

The Sydney, Australia-based AI design platform, co-founded by Cameron Adams, Cliff Obrecht, and CEO Melanie Perkins, is valued at $42 billion following an employee stock sale in August. The company has yet to file any paperwork for a public listing and has largely declined to address whispers of an IPO, but it seems to be making all the right moves. In November 2024, Canva hired Kelly Steckelberg, who previously guided Zoom through its IPO, as chief financial officer. And in November, COO Obrecht told Bloomberg an offering was “probably imminent in the next couple of years.”

Stripe

Stripe has been teasing a public offering since early 2023, but in February the Dublin, Ireland-based payment services company announced it had opted to raise money from private sources and allowed employees and shareholders to sell their stock via a tender offer. Whether it will continue to sit on the sidelines is still unknown, but investors are certainly interested, especially since the company, founded by Patrick and John Collison, reported a profit for the first time in five years at the end of 2024.

Blockchain.com

The large crypto brokerage and wallet provider plans to go public next year, perhaps via a SPAC listing, according to some reports. The London-based company has been staffing up, seemingly in anticipation of this, with CEO and co-founder Peter Smith moving Mike Wilcox from COO to CFO earlier this year. And Cohen & Company Capital Markets is reportedly advising the company through the process.

Kraken

The Cheyenne, Wyoming-based cryptocurrency exchange confidentially filed for an IPO in November with plans to go public before the 2026 midterm elections. The company, which was valued at $20 billion in its last funding round, is looking to take advantage of the Trump administration’s support for the crypto sector. Kraken—founded by Jesse Powell, Thanh Luu, and Michael Gronager—says the company has not yet determined how many shares it will offer, nor a price range for them.

Pershing Square

Bill Ackman’s hedge fund management company is looking at a 2026 IPO, according to a report from Bloomberg, perhaps as early as the first quarter. Ackman, last year, sold a stake in the New York-based company that gave Pershing Square a $10 billion valuation. Its largest fund has reported double-digit returns for the past three years. Reuters, meanwhile, reports Ackman could see two IPOs next year, with a separate listing for a closed-end fund that would also list next year. That fund would offer lower fees and quicker access to capital.

The final deadline for the 2026 Inc. Regionals Awards is Friday, December 12, at 11:59 p.m. PT. Apply now.

The daily digest for entrepreneurs and business leaders

Chris Morris

The 13 Most Anticipated IPOs of 2026