Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are expected to serve as top book runners for the IPOs of rivals OpenAI and Anthropic, but will assign separate banker teams to each deal to prevent information sharing, according to reports.
June 2026 · Wall Street vs. AI
Goldman vs. Morgan Stanley: The Battle for the Biggest AI IPOs
OpenAI and Anthropic have both filed confidentially with the SEC. The two banking giants are fighting over the coveted "lead left" slot on each deal — with teams split to avoid conflicts between the AI rivals.
$965B
Anthropic private valuation
$850B+
OpenAI private valuation
~$900M
Est. combined IPO fees (at 0.75%)
A few banks, not 23: the deals narrow
SpaceX's mega-raise spread across 23 underwriters. The AI listings concentrate the top spots in just two firms.
23 banks
SpaceX
~$75B raise
Top 2
Anthropic
$6B+ raise
The prize: the "lead left" — still up for grabs
The top-left slot on the prospectus carries share-allocation authority. On both AI deals it remains undecided — so investors must spread relationships across both firms.
OpenAI
Goldman & Morgan Stanley top two · lead left undecided
Anthropic
Morgan Stanley & Goldman lead · JPMorgan in talks · lead left undecided
Why the banks are hungry
Trading desks already up ~18% (Goldman) and ~17% (Morgan Stanley) year over year. Beyond fees, "soft dollar" trading flows reward whoever controls allocations.
The open question
Lofty valuations and unproven profitability hang over both AI firms. Will reality match the expectations that SpaceX's blockbuster listing set?
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