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The artificial-intelligence revolution is likely to prompt a continued boom in the initial public offering market, with companies like Elon Musk’s SpaceX and xAI, Anthropic, OpenAI, Databricks, and other privately held unicorns as potential candidates to file in 2026.

These and other firms may look to go public to raise money for AI-related investments, which could help them stay competitive with other AI giants, such as Nvidia, Microsoft, and Alphabet.

“Large private growth companies such as xAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX face similar capital intensity, making public markets a likely funding destination,” Jordi Visser, head of AI macro nexus research for 22V Research, wrote in a report. “The result may be a wave of major IPOs over the next 12 to 18 months.”

IPOs roared back to life in 2025 following a lackluster 2024. According to IPO research and investing firm Renaissance Capital, 202 companies priced IPOs in 2025, a 35% increase from last year. What’s more, these firms raised a total of $44 billion in proceeds, up almost 50% from 2024.

Cloud/AI firm CoreWeave, design software developer Figma, stablecoin issuer Circle Internet Group, and fintech Chime were among the more prominent debuts, although other recent IPOs such as StubHub, Klarna, Gemini, and Fermi have stumbled out of the gate.

Still, the strong performance of medical supplies maker Medline, which went public just before Christmas and has surged more than 40% from its IPO price, is another encouraging sign, particularly for companies owned by private equity firms. Medline was bought in a leveraged buyout in 2021, with Blackstone, The Carlyle Group, and Hellman & Friedman purchasing a majority stake. Medline’s success could prompt more PE-backed companies to go public.

But the IPO market had its fair share of fits and starts in 2025, with Liberation Day-related volatility and a fall government shutdown temporarily leading to lulls in new issuance activity.

“Hopes for a full rebound were dashed by volatility from tariffs, an extended government shutdown, and a late pullback in AI stocks,” said analysts for Renaissance Capital in a 2026 IPO preview report.

“Now, with more stable ground underfoot and a backlog brimming with the next wave of innovators, we’re optimistic that the IPO market will resume its long-awaited pickup in 2026,” the Renaissance analysts said. “We expect to see the past year’s uptick in venture-backed issuance to continue, particularly as more AI-related companies mature and seek to tap into growing demand from public investors.”

With that in mind, Renaissance estimates that between 200 and 230 companies could go public next year, potentially raising $40 to $60 billion. Renaissance said the demand will be “driven by a more robust comeback from larger issuers.”

To that end, the possibility of mega-unicorns like SpaceX and Anthropic going public would really kick the IPO market into a higher gear.

“The next few years look set to be the start of a phase where the most exciting global private companies take that next leap to go public,” said Samuel Kerr, head of equity capital markets for Mergermarket, in a recent report.

“If all these deals come through, the U.S. IPO market will experience a genuine revival, the green shoots of which have already been seen,” Kerr added. “The cohort of names lining up to list…represents the next wave of global business leaders which could dominate commerce for years to come.”

EquityZen, which operates a platform that lets people trade shares of private companies and is in the process of being acquired by Morgan Stanley, is also expecting 2026 to be a big year for IPOs.

The company noted in a report that Databricks, as well as fellow AI firms Cerebras, Cohesity, and Lambda Labs all could go public next year. So could crypto/blockchain companies such as BitGo, Consensys, and Kraken.

“The companies on our 2026 list reflect some of the most innovative industries in the market,” the EquityZen researchers wrote. “They are leaders in high-growth sectors…all of whom have used their time in the private markets to meaningfully scale revenue and solidify their market positions.”

Of course, the health of the IPO market is closely tied to the broader stock market. So as long as the bulls continue to rage on Wall Street, expect more unicorns to join the parade as well. But if there are any hiccups that derail the rally, IPO activity could take a hit too.

Write to Paul R. La Monica at paul.lamonica@barrons.com

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