Wall Street could be heading into its biggest IPO wave in years.

2026 could become a blockbuster year for US IPOs, with companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, Canva and SpaceX all being linked to potential listings that could collectively add trillions of dollars to the stock market.

Let’s start with OpenAI.  The company behind ChatGPT is reportedly laying the groundwork for a possible IPO as early as late 2026. OpenAI has reportedly been holding talks with Wall Street banks and expanding its investor relations operations ahead of a potential listing. Some estimates suggest the company could target a valuation close to US$1 trillion.

And OpenAI needs money fast.  The company is spending billions on AI chips, data centres and infrastructure as the AI arms race heats up globally. The company also launched a new enterprise consulting division backed by more than US$4 billion to push AI adoption among major corporations.

THEN there’s Anthropic, one of OpenAI’s biggest rivals and the company behind Claude AI.

Anthropic is reportedly targeting a possible IPO later this year.  Some analysts expect the company to pursue a valuation approaching 900 billion US dollars in private markets before going public.

The company has attracted massive backing from Amazon and Google and is becoming one of the fastest growing enterprise AI companies in the world. According to Forbes, Anthropic expects to spend roughly 19 billion US dollars this year on AI computing infrastructure alone.

Now, Canva is taking a different approach.

We’ve been hearing about a Canva IPO for years now, but the Australian design giant has delayed IPO plans again. They are now aiming for 2027.  The company has been growing aggressively and expanding its artificial intelligence features. And that might actually be the hold up.  They reportedly want to strengthen their AI business before going public.

And despite staying private for now, Canva is already considered one of the world’s most valuable software startups, with estimates placing its valuation above US$50 billion.

Then there’s the IPO everybody on Wall Street is obsessed with—SpaceX.

Elon Musk’s rocket company could potentially go public as early as June.  Some analysts believe the business could eventually carry a valuation approaching US$2 trillion.

That’s because SpaceX is no longer just a rocket company.  Between government launch contracts, satellite internet through Starlink and military partnerships, SpaceX has become one of the most strategically important private companies in America.

The US IPO market has been relatively quiet over the last few years because of high interest rates and economic uncertainty.

But this new wave of AI and tech IPOs could completely change investor sentiment.

These companies are already dominating industries even before becoming public. If they officially list, they could inject massive trading activity into Wall Street, boost stock market indexes and attract millions of younger investors chasing the next generation of tech giants.

Some analysts even believe the size of these companies could force changes to major indexes like the S&P 500 because of how large their market values may become.

But there’s also concern that investor excitement around AI may be pushing valuations too high.

Many of these companies are still spending billions annually and some are not yet profitable, meaning public investors could see major volatility if growth slows or the AI boom cools down.

And that’s the bottom line.