As AI companies race to go public, who else is along for the ride?

Overview

On TechCrunch's Equity podcast, hosts discuss what looks like a hot IPO summer driven by AI companies racing to go public. SpaceX went public this week in the largest IPO ever, making CEO Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire, and competitors OpenAI and Anthropic may soon follow with their own public debuts. The hosts argue that public market capital is shifting away from consumer and social networks toward AI labs and deeptech, with other startups trying to ride the SpaceX IPO wave.

Key Takeaways

SpaceX went public this week in the largest IPO ever, making CEO Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire.
Despite its name, SpaceX has emphasized the potential of its costly AI business.
OpenAI and Anthropic have confidentially filed to go public and may follow with their own debuts.
Hosts see public market capital shifting away from consumer and social networks toward AI labs and deeptech like SpaceX.
Other startups are trying to 'ride that SpaceX IPO wave,' for example by raising money for orbital data centers.
A cited reframing replaces FAANG with 'MANGOS': Meta, Anthropic, NVIDIA, Google, OpenAI and SpaceX.

The setup: a hot IPO summer

The episode frames a wave of AI-driven public offerings.

›SpaceX went public this week in the largest IPO ever.
›The debut made CEO Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire.
›SpaceX has been emphasizing the potential of its costly AI business despite its name.

On the latest episode of TechCrunch's Equity podcast, Kirsten Korosec, Sean O'Kane and Anthony Ha discussed what is shaping up to be a hot IPO summer.

Who else is going public

›Competitors OpenAI and Anthropic may soon follow SpaceX with their own public market debuts.
›Anthropic has confidentially filed to go public, and OpenAI has now done the same.
›The hosts expect a busy reporting season covering these filings.

From FAANG to MANGOS

Korosec cited a reframing of the dominant tech acronym.

›She referenced Julie Bort's story headlined 'It's not FAANG anymore, it's MANGOS.'
›FAANG stood for Facebook (now Meta), Amazon, Apple, Netflix and Google (now Alphabet).
›MANGOS stands for Meta, Anthropic, NVIDIA, Google, OpenAI and SpaceX.

Korosec said the shift puts several AI labs into the group and pushes out a giant streaming service, signaling that capital is moving toward AI labs and innovative deeptech.

Stress-testing public markets

Sean O'Kane focused on what SpaceX means for other companies.

›SpaceX is sucking up a huge chunk of the money available on public markets.
›It is stress testing the limits of what a public company can be and how much one person can control it.
›O'Kane is watching how other tech companies that go public try to emulate that.

O'Kane said the moment is a stress test of public markets in general after years of wondering whether the IPO market would open back up, and he expects to read hundreds more pages of SEC filings this summer.

A ripple effect across the market

›Korosec noted other startups trying to ride the SpaceX IPO wave.
›One example is raising money for orbital data centers after SpaceX helped popularize the concept.
›She called the ripple effect more interesting than the headline about Musk becoming a trillionaire.

Frequently Asked Questions

What made the SpaceX IPO notable?

It was the largest IPO ever and made CEO Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire, while the company emphasized the potential of its costly AI business.

Which AI companies might go public next?

OpenAI and Anthropic, both of which have confidentially filed to go public and may follow SpaceX with their own debuts.

What does 'MANGOS' stand for?

Meta, Anthropic, NVIDIA, Google, OpenAI and SpaceX, a reframing of the older FAANG acronym cited from Julie Bort's story.

What ripple effect are startups chasing?

Other startups are trying to ride the SpaceX IPO wave, for example by raising money for orbital data centers after SpaceX helped popularize the concept.

Why do the hosts call this a stress test of public markets?

Because SpaceX is absorbing a large share of available public market money and testing the limits of what a public company can be and how much a single person can control it.

The podcast argues that SpaceX's record IPO is opening a wider wave of AI and deeptech public offerings reshaping where market capital flows.