OpenAI is preparing to file paperwork for an initial public offering with investment banks, The Wall Street Journal reported on May 20, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley are helping draft OpenAI's IPO prospectus, the report said.

Sources said OpenAI could confidentially submit its IPO filing as soon as May 22. OpenAI is targeting a listing as soon as September. But the plan is fluid and could change, the sources added.

OpenAI removed the biggest obstacle to an IPO earlier this week by winning a court dispute with co-founder Elon Musk (일론 머스크). Musk has said he plans to appeal. SpaceX, which is led by Musk, is also expected to make its IPO filing public ahead of a listing expected in June.

There are still tasks OpenAI must resolve to move ahead with an IPO, some say. A key issue is dispelling concerns about whether it can generate enough revenue to support massive data centre investment commitments.

Many point out that OpenAI's position in the AI market has recently come under threat. Anthropic has grown faster than OpenAI in recent months amid strong sales of coding AI tools. OpenAI is known to have missed internal revenue and user targets amid competition with Google and Anthropic.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman (샘 알트먼) is keen on an IPO, but chief financial officer Sarah Friar (세라 프라이어) is reported to have told company leaders that it may need more time. OpenAI was valued at $852 billion in a recent funding round.