Overview
- The largest private U.S. companies raised a record $150 billion in 2025, with most of the capital directed to AI leaders such as OpenAI and Anthropic, according to Financial Times reporting based on PitchBook data.
- Funding was highly concentrated, with the top four deals—OpenAI’s $40 billion round, Anthropic’s $13 billion, xAI’s $10 billion, and Meta’s nearly $15 billion Scale AI purchase—exceeding 30% of total value and prompting a systemic-risk warning from PitchBook.
- SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing for potential listings in 2026, with SpaceX signaling a possible timetable and recent internal trades implying a private valuation around $800 billion, according to multiple reports.
- Reuters has reported that OpenAI is exploring an IPO in the second half of 2026 at a valuation that could approach $1 trillion, though the company has publicly downplayed firm timing.
- Rising commitments to chips, cloud and data centers are driving the search for durable capital, while more conventional candidates such as Databricks and Canva show revenue strength and governance steps consistent with IPO readiness.