SpaceX Initiates Public Offering Process Amidst Concurrent IPO Preparations by OpenAI and Anthropic
SpaceX 啟動公開發行程序，同時 OpenAI 與 Anthropic 亦在籌備 IPO
Introduction
SpaceX publicly filed its S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission on May 20, 2026, marking a formal step toward an initial public offering on the Nasdaq exchange under the ticker SPCX. Concurrently, OpenAI is preparing to confidentially file its own IPO prospectus as early as May 22, 2026, with both companies aiming for public debuts that could rank among the largest in financial history.
SpaceX 於 2026 年 5 月 20 日向美國證券交易委員會公開提交了 S-1 註冊聲明，正式邁向在納斯達克交易所掛牌上市，股票代碼為 SPCX。與此同時，OpenAI 準備最早於 2026 年 5 月 22 日秘密提交其 IPO 招股說明書，兩家公司均旨在打造金融史上規模最大的首次公開發行之一。
Main Body
The S-1 filing provides the first comprehensive public disclosure of SpaceX’s financial condition. For the fiscal year 2025, the company reported revenue of $18.67 billion against a net loss of $4.9 billion. In the first quarter of 2026, revenue reached $4.69 billion with a net loss of $4.28 billion. The majority of revenue—approximately $11 billion in 2025—originated from the Starlink satellite internet division, while the space launch segment contributed $4.1 billion and the AI segment $3.2 billion. Capital expenditures for the AI segment totaled $12.7 billion in 2025 and $7.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026, exceeding spending on space and connectivity combined.
這份 S-1 申報文件提供了 SpaceX 財務狀況的首次全面公開揭露。在 2025 財政年度，該公司報告營收為 186.7 億美元，而淨虧損為 49 億美元。在 2026 年第一季，營收達到 46.9 億美元，淨虧損為 42.8 億美元。大部分營收——2025 年約 110 億美元——來自 Starlink 衛星網路部門，而太空發射部門貢獻了 41 億美元，AI 部門則為 32 億美元。AI 部門在 2025 年的資本支出總計 127 億美元，2026 年第一季為 77 億美元，超過了太空與連接業務的合計支出。
Elon Musk, serving as CEO, CTO, and Chairman, holds 85.1% of combined voting power through supervoting shares. His compensation package includes performance awards tied to audacious milestones: one billion shares vest upon achieving a $7.5 trillion market capitalization and establishing a permanent Mars colony with at least one million inhabitants; a separate award of 302 million shares is contingent on building orbital data centers delivering 100 terawatts of compute annually. The filing also reveals that Anthropic has contracted to pay $1.25 billion per month through May 2029 for access to SpaceX’s Colossus data center compute capacity, totaling approximately $15 billion in committed revenue.
Elon Musk 擔任執行長、技術長及董事長，透過超級投票股持有 85.1% 的綜合投票權。他的薪酬方案包括與大膽里程碑掛鉤的績效獎勵：若市值達到 7.5 兆美元並建立一個至少有一百萬居民的永久火星殖民地，將獲授予 10 億股股票；另一項 3.02 億股的獎勵則取決於是否建立每年提供 100 太瓦算力的軌道數據中心。文件還透露，Anthropic 已簽約直到 2029 年 5 月，每月支付 12.5 億美元以使用 SpaceX 的 Colossus 數據中心算力，承諾營收總計約 150 億美元。
OpenAI, creator of ChatGPT, is working with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to file a confidential IPO draft, with a potential public debut as early as September 2026. The company’s preparations follow a jury verdict on May 18, 2026, dismissing Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman, which had challenged the company’s for-profit transition. OpenAI’s private valuation exceeds $850 billion, and it has raised over $180 billion from investors. The company faces significant operational expenses and competition from Anthropic, which is reportedly in talks for a $900 billion valuation.
ChatGPT 的創造者 OpenAI 正與高盛及摩根史坦利合作提交秘密 IPO 草案，最快可能於 2026 年 9 月公開上市。該公司的籌備是在 2026 年 5 月 18 日陪審團裁決後展開的，該裁決駁回了 Elon Musk 對 OpenAI 及其執行長 Sam Altman 的訴訟，該訴訟先前對公司轉向營利性質的轉型提出質疑。OpenAI 的私募估值超過 8,500 億美元，並已從投資者處籌集超過 1,800 億美元。該公司面臨顯著的營運開支以及來自 Anthropic 的競爭，據報導後者正在洽談 9,000 億美元的估值。
The SpaceX IPO is expected to raise up to $75 billion at a valuation target of $1.75 trillion, potentially surpassing Saudi Aramco’s 2019 record. Goldman Sachs holds the lead left position among five primary bookrunners—including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase—with underwriting fees estimated to exceed $500 million. The offering is anticipated to catalyze a broader wave of technology IPOs, with OpenAI and Anthropic also preparing public listings. SpaceX’s Starship rocket, critical to its lunar and Mars ambitions, is scheduled for its 12th test flight later this week, while the company faces ongoing regulatory scrutiny following a worker fatality at its Starbase facility.
SpaceX 的 IPO 預計將在 1.75 兆美元的目標估值下籌集高達 750 億美元，有可能超越沙烏地阿拉伯國家石油公司（Saudi Aramco）2019 年的紀錄。在高盛、摩根史坦利、美國銀行、花旗集團及摩根大通五家主要承銷商中，高盛處於領先地位，承銷費預計將超過 5 億美元。此次發行預計將觸發更廣泛的科技公司 IPO 浪潮，OpenAI 與 Anthropic 同樣在籌備上市。對其登月與火星雄心至關重要的 Starship 火箭計畫於本週稍後進行第 12 次試飛，而該公司在 Starbase 設施發生工人死亡事故後，仍面臨持續的監管審查。
Conclusion
SpaceX has formally initiated its public offering process, disclosing substantial losses alongside dominant market positions in satellite internet and space launch. OpenAI is concurrently advancing its own IPO preparations, setting the stage for a historic period of technology company listings that will test investor appetite for high-growth, capital-intensive ventures.
SpaceX 已正式啟動公開發行程序，在披露巨額虧損的同時，展現其在衛星網路與太空發射市場的主導地位。OpenAI 同時也在推進自身的 IPO 籌備，為科技公司上市的歷史性時期鋪路，這將測試投資者對於高成長、資本密集型企業的胃口。
Vocabulary Learning
The Nuance of 'Conditional Contingency' in High-Stakes Corporate Prose
To transition from B2 to C2, a learner must move beyond simple if/then structures and master the lexical precision of contingency. In the provided text, we see a sophisticated deployment of terminology that defines the terms of possibility without using basic conditional conjunctions.
⚡ The 'C2 Pivot': From Depend to Contingent
Notice the phrasing: "...a separate award of 302 million shares is contingent on building orbital data centers..."
At B2, a student writes: "He will get the shares if he builds the centers." At C2, we utilize nominalization and precise adjectives. "Contingent on" does not merely mean "dependent"; it implies a formal, legal, or systemic requirement that must be satisfied before a result is triggered. It shifts the focus from the person (Elon Musk) to the condition itself.
🔍 Linguistic Deconstruction: The Architecture of Speculation
Observe how the text maintains an air of professional detachment and precision through these specific markers:
- "Vesting" as a Technical State: "...shares vest upon achieving..." In C2 English, we use domain-specific verbs to replace long explanations. Instead of saying "become the legal owner of," we use vest.
- The 'Potential' Modifier: "...with a potential public debut as early as September..." Note the placement. By qualifying the noun "debut" with "potential," the writer avoids the clumsy "It is possible that they will debut," maintaining a dense, information-heavy flow characteristic of academic and financial journals.
- Catalytic Causality: "The offering is anticipated to catalyze a broader wave..." B2 learners use "cause" or "start." C2 learners use catalyze to imply that the event is not just a cause, but an accelerant for a process already in motion.
🛠️ Syntactic Sophistication: The Appositive Weight
Look at the structure: "Goldman Sachs holds the lead left position among five primary bookrunners—including Morgan Stanley, Bank of America, Citigroup, and JPMorgan Chase—with underwriting fees estimated to exceed $500 million."
This is a classic C2 move: The Nested Expansion.
- Core Claim: Goldman Sachs holds the position.
- Interruption (The Appositive): The list of bookrunners (providing context without starting a new sentence).
- Extension: The financial implication (the fees).
By weaving these three layers into one sentence, the author achieves syntactic density, allowing the reader to process the hierarchy of information (Primary Actor Context Result) in a single cognitive sweep.