Startup News: Public-market bound? 5 private companies signaling potential IPOs

The path from private company to public listing rarely follows a fixed schedule. A confidential registration statement can begin the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission review process without requiring a company to disclose its financials publicly, and businesses can still pause or withdraw their plans if market conditions change.

Even with that uncertainty, filings and reports of banker engagements can offer investors a clearer view of which private companies are moving closer to the public markets. The five companies below have each taken concrete steps toward a potential IPO. While none is guaranteed to list in the near term, their filings and reported preparations make them notable companies to watch.

FalconX, a digital asset prime brokerage

San Mateo, California-based FalconX operates a digital asset prime brokerage for institutional clients. Its platform provides services such as trade execution, liquidity access, financing and clearing across digital asset markets.

In May 2026, FalconX reportedly confidentially filed a draft registration statement with the SEC and hired Cantor and other bankers to advise on a potential IPO. At the time, a person familiar with the process said a listing was not expected until later in the year because of market conditions. The confidential filing gives FalconX flexibility to continue preparing for a public offering while evaluating trading activity and investor appetite across the cryptocurrency sector.¹

FalconX has also continued expanding its infrastructure ahead of a possible listing. In July, the company acquired blockchain networking provider bloXroute to strengthen the speed and efficiency of onchain trade execution and support new trading, financing and prime brokerage capabilities. The acquisition followed FalconX’s expansion into tokenized equities and other onchain markets, illustrating how the company is positioning itself to serve institutions as traditional and digital assets converge.²

Founded in 2018, FalconX’s list of investors has included Tiger Global Management, B Capital, Wellington Management, Adams Street Partners and GIC. The private company’s last known valuation sits at $8 billion as of its $150 million fundraising round in June 2022.³

Kraken, a cryptocurrency exchange

San Francisco-based Kraken is one of the longest-running cryptocurrency exchanges, offering trading, custody and other financial products to retail and institutional customers.

Kraken announced in November 2025 that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the SEC. The company did not establish a listing date, saying an offering would proceed after the SEC review process and subject to market conditions.⁴ Although the filing remains one of the clearest indications of Kraken’s public-market ambitions, subsequent reporting suggested that the company was willing to wait for a more favorable market window.⁵

At the same time, Kraken has been broadening its reach beyond cryptocurrency spot trading. In May, it reportedly agreed to acquire stablecoin payments company Reap in a deal valued at approximately $600 million. The transaction would add business-payment infrastructure to a portfolio that has also expanded into equities, derivatives and consumer payment products.⁶

Kraken’s Forge Price™ was $35.00 as of September 25, 2026, implying a valuation of $11.96 billion. Founded in 2011, its notable investors include Tribe Capital, Blockchain Capital, Arctic Ventures and Nasdaq Ventures.

OpenAI, a generative AI company

San Francisco-based OpenAI develops the ChatGPT product family and frontier artificial intelligence models used by consumers, developers and enterprises.

In June 2026, OpenAI announced that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement for a U.S. IPO. The company did not disclose the size or terms of the potential offering and cautioned that a timeline had not been determined.⁷ Reuters reported that a debut had previously been considered for as early as September, potentially at a valuation of up to $1 trillion.⁸ More recent reporting indicates that OpenAI no longer expects to list in 2026, making its timing less certain even though the filing keeps a potential offering in motion.⁹

The scale of OpenAI’s business could make any eventual listing one of the most closely watched technology IPOs. When it disclosed its filing, the company said ChatGPT had more than 900 million weekly active users and over 50 million consumer subscribers.¹⁰ OpenAI claimed it was generating approximately $2 billion in monthly revenue as of March 2026.¹¹ Those figures demonstrate rapid commercialization, while the company’s substantial infrastructure spending and reported expectation that it will remain unprofitable until 2030 could receive significant public-market scrutiny.¹²

OpenAI’s Forge Price™ was $721.85 as of September 25, 2026, implying a valuation of $894.33 billion. Founded in 2015, the private company’s notable investors include Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Nvidia, Amazon and Softbank.

Anthropic, an AI model developer

San Francisco-based Anthropic develops the Claude family of AI models and applications, including Claude Code, which helps software developers analyze, write and debug code.

Anthropic announced on June 1, 2026, that it had confidentially submitted a draft registration statement on Form S-1 to the SEC. The company did not disclose the proposed number of shares, price range or listing date.¹³ In September, reporting indicated that Anthropic was targeting a November debut rather than an earlier October window, which would allow it to present stronger third-quarter financial results to prospective investors.¹⁴ If that timetable holds, Anthropic could reach the public markets ahead of its larger rival OpenAI.

The company has continued to broaden Claude’s enterprise use cases as it prepares for potential public-market scrutiny. Anthropic recently introduced tools for financial advisers that connect Claude with investment analytics and wealth-management software from companies including Charles Schwab, BlackRock and Addepar.¹⁵ Its growing enterprise footprint may be particularly relevant to investors assessing whether demand for generative AI can translate into durable, recurring revenue.

Founded in 2021, Anthropic’s last price per share was $589.01, with a post-money valuation of $965 billion as of a May 2026 fundraising round. The private company’s investors include Amazon, Coatue Management, Fidelity Management and Blackstone.

Discord, an online communications platform

San Francisco-based Discord operates a voice, video and text communications platform centered on online communities. Although Discord serves a wide range of interest groups, gaming remains at the core of its product and brand. The company says it has more than 200 million monthly active users.

Discord reportedly confidentially filed  for a U.S. IPO in January 2026 after previously engaging Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase as advisers. Pricing and timing have not been confirmed, and reporting has noted that the company could still decide not to proceed. Even so, the filing represents Discord’s most concrete step toward a listing after years of IPO speculation.¹⁶

The company has also been building additional value into its paid Nitro subscription. In May, Discord and Microsoft announced a partnership that gives Nitro subscribers access to a starter version of Xbox Game Pass, including a library of more than 50 games and a limited amount of cloud gaming.¹⁷ The partnership could help Discord strengthen subscription retention and deepen its position within the gaming ecosystem as investors evaluate its growth and monetization strategy.

Discord’s Forge Price™ was $36.79 as of September 25, 2026, implying a valuation of $10.02 billion. Its notable investors include Dragoneer Investment Group, Benchmark, Greylock Partners and Index Ventures. Discord was founded in 2012.

Investor takeaway

FalconX, Kraken, OpenAI, Anthropic and Discord represent very different corners of the private market, but they share an important milestone as each has been linked to a confidential IPO filing.

For private-market investors and shareholders, a potential IPO can create a path to liquidity while also introducing public financial disclosures and market-based price discovery. It can also establish new valuation benchmarks for comparable private companies across cryptocurrency, artificial intelligence and communications technology.

Timelines remain fluid. Confidential filings do not obligate companies to complete an offering, and recent reports show that even highly anticipated issuers may adjust their plans in response to market conditions. Still, the steps already taken by these five companies make them among the more notable potential public-market entrants to watch over the next several months.

Forge tracks the pipeline of prospective IPOs to help private market investors stay informed of potential public market activity.