Artificial intelligence search engine Perplexity AI is sticking to its 2028 initial public offering (IPO) timeline, regardless of how rival AI companies Anthropic and OpenAI perform with investors, CNBC reported Tuesday.
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas confirmed the company’s IPO plan remains unchanged in a CNBC interview that aired on Tuesday, marking the clearest public commitment yet to a 2028 listing. The timeline was set independently of external market conditions and won’t shift based on how competitor AI firms fare with investors.
Key points from Srinivas’ interview
| What he said | What it means |
| “Agnostic of these two companies, we were planning for something in 2028 so that still remains the case” | The 2028 IPO date is a deliberate internal decision, not a reaction to competitors |
| “The SpaceX IPO this week will definitely be a leading indicator to how Anthropic or OpenAI will go out” | SpaceX’s upcoming listing will signal investor appetite for AI companies |
| “I think it’s important for the AI industry that these IPOs go well, and I actually think they will go well” | Srinivas believes the IPOs will succeed because the companies are performing well |
| “If for six months you don’t see a model capability advance from one of these two companies, then it’s a problem for them” | High valuations depend on continuous AI model innovation |
Why this matters for the AI industry
Srinivas defended the high valuations of Anthropic and OpenAI, arguing that their frontier position in AI model development justifies investor confidence. However, he warned that continuous innovation is essential—companies must deliver model capability advances to maintain their market positions.
The comments come as the AI industry prepares for what could be the most consequential wave of technology listings in recent memory. Earlier this week, OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, confidentially filed a draft S-1 registration statement with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC).
Just over a week earlier, Anthropic—the AI startup behind Claude—also submitted its own IPO paperwork to the SEC, underscoring the growing race among leading generative AI companies to raise capital and strengthen their positions in the rapidly expanding sector.
Business growth behind the IPO plan
By consistently holding 2028 as its earliest IPO date, Perplexity has built a healthy, high-growth business, according to Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko in an emailed statement to Reuters. The company reported $450 million in annual recurring revenue (ARR) in March 2026 and is targeting $656 million in ARR by year-end 2026.
Srinivas previously addressed speculation about Perplexity’s finances in 2025, stating the company was not running out of money and had no plans to go public before 2028.
