SpaceX has selected Goldman Sachs as the front-runner to be lead underwriter for its initial public offering and is preparing to release a prospectus, reports said.

On May 19, local time, CNBC reported that SpaceX, after confidentially filing listing documents with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission last month, could release a prospectus as soon as May 21.

Goldman Sachs is set to take the first position in the underwriting lineup, followed by Morgan Stanley. Bank of America, Citigroup and JPMorgan Chase are also expected to participate, reports said. Because the order of underwriters carries symbolic weight in registration filings and marketing, the market views the lineup as a signal that SpaceX's listing work has moved into full swing.

The IPO is also being discussed as potentially record-breaking in size. SpaceX most recently received a valuation of $1.25 trillion in February, when Elon Musk (일론 머스크) merged the company with his artificial intelligence startup xAI. If that figure is reflected in the offering process, it would likely become one of the largest listings in U.S. market history.

Among technology companies listed in the United States, only Facebook and Alibaba have been valued at more than $100 billion on their first trading day. More recently, AI chip company Cerebras finished trading with a market value of about $95 billion after listing on Nasdaq. With expectations rising for large AI-related listings, some see SpaceX as able to further amplify that trend.

SpaceX is also pursuing a plan to enter public markets ahead of OpenAI and Anthropic. Both companies are valued at close to $1 trillion in private markets and are reviewing listings as soon as this year. If SpaceX releases a prospectus first, it would gain an early lead in the race for large technology IPOs.

The timing of the listing push also coincides with Musk's recent court setback. Musk filed a lawsuit in 2024 against OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, but an Oakland, California jury on May 19 found that Musk waited too long before bringing a case against OpenAI and Sam Altman. U.S. District Judge Yvonne Gonzalez Rogers immediately accepted the verdict.

Musk objected to the decision, calling it a "technical issue on the calendar," and said he would appeal. SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment related to its IPO preparations.

If SpaceX's prospectus is released, the market is expected to focus closely on the offering structure, business risks, financial information, Musk's control and the basis for its valuation after combining with xAI. With its valuation already lifted to $1.25 trillion, a key point to watch will be not only demand for the offering but also how much the market accepts that valuation after listing.