Perplexity CEO signals IPO plans as OpenAI, Anthropic filings stir AI market

Perplexity plans to go public in 2028, with CEO Aravind Srinivas signalling that the AI search start-up will not rush its listing plans even as bigger names move closer to Wall Street.

The comments land at a defining moment for artificial intelligence.

Anthropic filed confidentially for a US initial public offering last week, OpenAI followed with its own confidential filing on Monday, and SpaceX is preparing to go public on Friday.

The back-to-back filings have turned the AI boom into a real test for public markets, but Srinivas said Perplexity is sticking to its 2028 IPO plan.

Locked in for 2028: Perplexity plays the long game

Srinivas told CNBC that Perplexity’s IPO plan remains anchored in 2028, regardless of how investors receive Anthropic or OpenAI.

The point matters because it frames Perplexity as measured rather than reactive.

Perplexity has also been here before as in 2025, when questions swirled around the company’s finances, Srinivas said the start-up was not running out of money and had no plan to list before 2028.

The latest comments therefore sound less like a response to the IPO rush and more like a restatement of an existing strategy.

Unlike OpenAI and Anthropic, which are known for frontier models, Perplexity is best known as an AI-powered answer and search engine.

Its pitch is less about owning the biggest model, and more about becoming a trusted gateway for how people search online.

Why these IPOs matter to everyone

Srinivas still acknowledged that Perplexity will not be immune if the wider AI IPO window turns sour.

He said there would be ripple effects if the OpenAI and Anthropic listings disappoint, adding there was “no sugar coating” that risk.

That is why SpaceX’s offering this week matters beyond Elon Musk’s company. It is the first major stress test for investor appetite at the top end of the growth market.

The company is pursuing a $75 billion (approx. R 1,3 trillion) offering at a $1.75 trillion valuation, a deal that would rank among the largest in history if completed.

For AI companies, the stakes are sharper. OpenAI and Anthropic are asking public investors to underwrite years of heavy spending on chips, data centres and talent.

But hype will not be enough once financial statements are public.

Morningstar has pointed to investor scrutiny around how OpenAI and Anthropic present revenue metrics before their listings.

PitchBook analyst Harrison Rolfes told Morningstar that both firms are in an “ARR accounting arms race”, a reminder that public markets will test not just growth, but the quality of that growth.

Frontier valuations under the microscope

The valuation debate is where the AI IPO story becomes most sensitive as Anthropic was last valued at $965 billion (approx. R 16,5 trillion) after raising $65 billion (approx. R 1,1 trillion) in a late-May funding round.

OpenAI, meanwhile, raised money earlier this year at an $840 billion (approx. R 14,4 trillion) valuation and is reportedly targeting an IPO valuation of up to $1 trillion (approx. R 17,1 trillion).

Those numbers may be easier to defend while model progress remains fast and enterprise demand keeps rising.

The harder question is what happens if capability gains slow, or if companies reassess how much they are willing to spend on AI tools.