The biggest IPO in history is coming

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Source: Cailian Press

Elon Musk’s SpaceX is reportedly secretly submitting its initial public offering (IPO) application to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), taking an important step that could make it the largest IPO in history.

According to insiders, this satellite manufacturing and rocket launch company has filed its listing application confidentially. Previously, reports indicated that SpaceX plans to raise approximately $40 billion to $80 billion through an IPO, with a target valuation possibly reaching $1.75 trillion.

This filing could allow the company to go public as early as July this year, aligning with the timeline Elon Musk previously shared with insiders.

SpaceX may become the first of the three major super IPOs in 2026: AI companies OpenAI and Anthropic are also preparing to go public within the year. Meanwhile, due to investor concerns that AI will reshape the software industry landscape, many smaller tech companies’ IPO plans have been delayed.

Because SpaceX chose the currently popular confidential submission method, most investors will have to wait until close to the listing to see the company’s financial data. This process allows regulators and the company to communicate and revise information disclosures multiple times before official disclosure.

Sources say SpaceX has selected Bank of America, Citigroup, Goldman Sachs, J.P. Morgan, and Morgan Stanley as lead underwriters. Several other investment banks will participate in co-underwriting. If the deal proceeds smoothly, these institutions are expected to earn hundreds of millions of dollars in underwriting fees.

In February this year, SpaceX merged with Elon Musk’s AI company xAI, creating a giant valued at $1.25 trillion, making it one of the largest corporate consolidations in U.S. history based on transaction scale. By strengthening synergies between the two companies, Musk has provided stronger capital support for xAI to compete against larger rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic.

For years, SpaceX’s sales, costs, profits, and assets and liabilities have been kept highly confidential, with limited disclosures only to investors closely related to the management. Currently, its space business has achieved revenue growth and profitability, but its AI business xAI remains in early stages and requires substantial funding.

Once the prospectus is public, the market is expected to gain a comprehensive understanding of the merged company’s operations, which include satellite manufacturing plants, rocket launch sites, and a large xAI data center facility in Memphis.

The document may also disclose more customer information. SpaceX has built a large consumer business through Starlink and also provides services to NASA and national security agencies.

SpaceX executives have long claimed that the company would not go public until rockets regularly fly to Mars. However, this strategy changed last year, and the company began preparing for a stock listing.

This shift was driven by Musk’s bold gamble: he believes the next frontier dominated by AI is building data centers in space. This is a costly project, and a giant IPO could provide the funding needed for this plan.

Once SpaceX finally goes public, Musk will become the first entrepreneur to simultaneously control two trillion-dollar market cap companies. It is estimated that Musk’s net worth is close to $840 billion, making him the world’s richest person.

Reena Aggarwal, a finance professor at Georgetown University, pointed out that even with Musk’s star power and SpaceX’s prominence, the company still needs a highly receptive public market. Recently, the stock market has experienced intense volatility due to the U.S.-Israel-Iran conflicts and soaring oil prices.

“Even if the company has excellent fundamentals and strong investor demand, if the market turns pessimistic or overly volatile, the IPO could still fail. We hope the current geopolitical tensions will ease before June, reducing uncertainty.” However, she expects retail investors to show strong interest.

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Editor: Wang Ke