Report says three IPOs could outweigh 25 years of US VC exits

In short: A new report says the SpaceX IPO, plus possible IPOs from Anthropic and OpenAI, could add up to more value than all U.S. venture-backed exits since 2000.

What's going on

A report from the National Venture Capital Association and PitchBook, cited by TechCrunch, makes a striking comparison about today’s biggest tech listings. It says SpaceX going public, along with expected public offerings from AI companies Anthropic and possibly OpenAI, could “generate more value than all U.S. VC-backed exits since 2000.”

An IPO, or initial public offering, is when a company starts selling shares on the stock market (like opening a private club to the public). SpaceX has already gone public at a reported valuation of about $1.77 trillion. TechCrunch says Anthropic and OpenAI are each pushing toward trillion-dollar valuations too, which could put the three companies together above $4 trillion.

TechCrunch notes there are important caveats. This comparison does not include big non-U.S. listings like Alibaba. It also talks about “value created,” not cash paid out, and it focuses on venture-backed exits, which means IPOs and acquisitions of companies backed by venture capital investors.

What to watch

If Anthropic and OpenAI do move ahead with IPOs, it could change how people measure the tech industry’s biggest moments. It could also encourage more late stage private companies to stay private longer, then go public at much higher prices, which can reshape who makes money and when.

Source: TechCrunch AI