OpenAI’s $1 Trillion IPO Gamble: Can It Win the AI Arms Race Against China?

OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, is positioning itself for a historic initial public offering with a targeted valuation of $1 trillion. The company completed a significant restructuring on October 28, 2025, transitioning from a nonprofit-controlled entity to a traditional for-profit corporation. This strategic shift aims to attract Wall Street investors by removing previous profit caps.

The MOVE comes amid escalating competition in the AI sector, particularly from Chinese firms like DeepSeek, which have demonstrated the ability to develop comparable AI systems at lower costs. The AI industry has increasingly been framed as a global arms race, with superpowers vying for dominance.

Originally founded in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab, OpenAI's mission was to ensure artificial intelligence benefits humanity. However, the immense financial demands of cutting-edge AI development necessitated a shift in structure. The company introduced a capped-profit subsidiary in 2019 before fully embracing a for-profit model with its latest reorganization.