Can You Invest in OpenAI's ChatGPT?

Artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) have been at the forefront of technological development over the last few years. ChatGPT, which is owned and managed by OpenAI, has become the name most synonymous with the AI space, so naturally investors want to know if they can invest in the LLM tool. As of June 2026, OpenAI remains a private company, though it has confidentially filed an S-1 registration statement with the SEC and is targeting a public debut as early as late 2026. There are other ways to invest in AI technologies and even ChatGPT indirectly, though.

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Why Invest in AI?

Depending on who you are, AI is about to change everything all at once or nothing at all. Since the release of art-bot AIs like DALL-E and chatbot AIs like ChatGPT, some observers have rushed to dub this the dawn of a new age. Occasional enthusiasts have even compared the invention of AI to the industrial revolution.

On the other end of the spectrum, skeptics have dismissed the current generation of artificial intelligence as little more than a digital party trick. They’ve rushed to point out every mistake the still early-in-life models make as proof that the underlying technology is irredeemably flawed.

Where this will all land in five or 10 years time is hard to say. Normalcy bias is a powerful thing, so the “nothing to see here camp” might be based on little more than the assumption that since a digital mind didn’t exist yesterday, it cannot exist tomorrow. On the other hand, while ChatGPT does the same thing that computers have always done best by finding patterns in data, it’s doing so on a scale and at a speed that we haven’t seen before.

How Can You Invest in ChatGPT?

A man researching if you can invest in OpenAI's ChatGPT.

OpenAI confidentially filed an S-1 registration statement with the SEC on June 8, 2026, with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley leading the process. The company is targeting a public debut as early as the fourth quarter of 2026 at a reported valuation above $1 trillion, though no official listing date, ticker or price range has been announced. A confidential filing is not a guarantee of an IPO. OpenAI can delay or withdraw depending on market conditions.

Before any public listing could happen, OpenAI completed a significant structural change. In October 2025, the company converted from its earlier capped-profit structure into OpenAI Group PBC, a public benefit corporation. The nonprofit arm, now called the OpenAI Foundation, retained oversight and a roughly 26% equity stake in the commercial entity. This restructuring gave OpenAI a clearer path to raising capital from public markets while preserving its stated mission.

Until a public listing is complete, you cannot invest in ChatGPT in the typical manner. That’s because it’s a software package produced and owned by OpenAI, a company based in San Francisco that has not yet completed a public offering. Until that changes, its stocks won’t appear on the traditional stock market like other top companies on the market.

If you’re an accredited investor, it’s theoretically possible that you could buy a stake in OpenAI by purchasing privately held shares. But OpenAI’s investor list includes some of Silicon Valley’s most influential billionaires, so it might take an eight-figure check to even get someone returning your calls. If that’s your profile though, you are most likely better off investing through one of the venture capital firms that own a stake in OpenAI, including Sequoia Capital or Thrive Capital.

For retail investors, generally the closest you can get to investing in ChatGPT is by purchasing shares of Microsoft (MSFT) stock. Microsoft holds roughly a 27% stake in OpenAI Group PBC, giving it a significant profit stake in OpenAI. That also includes access to OpenAI’s software as the basis of a next-generation version of the search engine Bing. Amazon has also committed up to $50 billion in total investment in OpenAI, making it another indirect way to gain exposure to the company’s growth.

Beyond that, you can invest in companies that have a relationship with OpenAI’s products. On the back end, this can mean investing in vendors that provide the hardware and software solutions that ChatGPT relies on. The most noteworthy company is NVIDIA (NVDA), which produces the advanced chipsets used for artificial intelligence machines.

On the front end, you can invest in companies that intend to use ChatGPT in their own products. Several firms have announced strategic partnerships with OpenAI to begin integrating the artificial intelligence into their own lines. This includes companies like Salesforce (CRM) and Snap (SNAP). One report by Forbes even suggests that Coca-Cola (KO) may integrate OpenAI into its business model. It’s not the same as investing directly in OpenAI itself, but it still will give your portfolio exposure to ChatGPT as a product.

Pros and Cons of Investing in AI

While OpenAI itself isn’t publicly traded, the broader AI sector offers plenty of ways to invest, from chip manufacturers to software companies building on AI. Before diving in, it’s important to understand both the opportunities and the risks that come with this fast-evolving technology.

Pros

Growth potential. The most compelling reason to invest in AI is its explosive growth trajectory. AI tools are transforming industries from healthcare to finance, creating new efficiencies and revenue streams. Companies integrating AI effectively can gain a competitive edge, and investors may benefit from that innovation through higher stock valuations over time.
Broad investment access. Even though OpenAI itself remains private, there are indirect ways to participate in the AI boom. Publicly traded companies like Microsoft, which holds a major stake in OpenAI, and Nvidia, the leader in AI hardware, offer exposure to the sector’s growth. Exchange-traded funds (ETFs) focused on AI and robotics also make it easier to diversify within this fast-moving space.
Long-term outlook. Despite short-term risks, AI remains a transformative force likely to shape the economy for decades. Savvy investors who focus on fundamentals, such as strong partnerships, clear monetization strategies and responsible innovation, may find lasting value. As with any emerging industry, patience and diversification are key.

Cons

Risk of volatility. AI investing is not without its pitfalls. The sector is relatively young, and valuations can swing widely as new technologies emerge or investor enthusiasm cools. Many AI-driven companies have yet to prove consistent profitability, meaning investors could face sharp corrections if expectations outpace results.
Ethical and regulatory concerns. AI’s rapid advancement has sparked debates about ethics, privacy and job displacement. Governments around the world are introducing regulations that could reshape how AI is developed and deployed. For investors, these evolving rules may create uncertainty, and in some cases, limit growth potential for certain firms.

How Can You Invest in Other Artificial Intelligence?

Beyond investing in OpenAI, you can also look to invest in AI as a field overall. Over the past year, artificial intelligence has become a sort of four-minute mile. Nobody could build a system remotely like DALL-E or ChatGPT just a few years ago. Now, new breakthroughs emerge every few weeks from any number of places. So a good way to invest might be by looking for those other companies.

Explore Other AI Companies

The most prominent AI companies right now are probably firms like Alphabet (GOOG), Tesla (TSLA) and Amazon (AMZN). All three are either heavily invested in their own artificial intelligence software or are helping to develop third-party programs.

Other significant players have also emerged. Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI model, is reportedly on track for its first profitable quarter and targeting its own IPO as early as late 2026. xAI, Elon Musk’s AI venture, merged with SpaceX in February 2026 and became part of the largest IPO in history when SpaceX went public in June 2026.

This is generally the closest thing you can get to investing in OpenAI, since in all of these cases you will be investing in a firm developing AI software.

Consider ChatGPT’s Partners

Beyond that, as with ChatGPT partnerships, you can begin looking for companies that will thrive on artificial intelligence. With this approach, your goal is to try to identify firms that can take advantage of the opportunities that AI offers. What sectors and companies will use this tool? Who will become more profitable in the long run because of it?

Target the Broader Tech Sector

One way to answer this is by investing in the technology sector in general. You can buy stock in ETFs or mutual funds that are indexed to the tech sector, or funds that are indexed to the NASDAQ market. You can also try to identify firms and sectors that will do well with artificial intelligence technology, such as companies that do automated customer service, large data-management firms and logistics companies. All of these are sectors that need to handle large volumes of data with complex, non-routine outputs, which is exactly what AI is likely to specialize in.

What to Watch as OpenAI Approaches Its IPO

OpenAI’s path to the public markets is moving quickly, but it is not yet complete. The confidential S-1 filing on June 8, 2026 formally begins the process, but several milestones remain before shares are available to everyday investors.

The next meaningful public event would be the release of a public S-1 filing, which would disclose OpenAI’s audited financials, business model, risks, share structure and proposed listing terms for the first time. After that, a roadshow and pricing would follow if market conditions support the offering.

The financial picture that has emerged from pre-IPO disclosures is one of rapid growth alongside significant losses. OpenAI’s CFO confirmed the company exited 2025 with an annualized revenue rate above $20 billion, growing roughly four times faster than Alphabet and Meta did at comparable stages. Enterprise customers now account for more than 40% of revenue. At the same time, the company is not yet profitable. It burned an estimated $3.7 billion in the first quarter of 2026 alone, against $5.7 billion in revenue. Profitability is not likely until around 2029 to 2030.

Competition is also intensifying. Anthropic is approaching profitability ahead of OpenAI. Google’s Gemini has grown its share of AI web traffic significantly over the past year, while ChatGPT’s share has declined. Meta continues to release open-source models that reduce barriers to entry for competitors. How OpenAI maintains its lead in this environment will be one of the central questions investors evaluate when the public S-1 is released.

For investors who want to participate in the OpenAI IPO directly, the practical question will be timing and access. Retail investors will need to wait for a confirmed public offering and access through a brokerage platform. In the meantime, indirect exposure through Microsoft, Nvidia or AI-focused ETFs remains the most accessible route.

How to Evaluate an AI Investment Before You Buy

Not every company with AI in its name or business model is equally positioned to benefit from the technology’s growth. Before investing in any AI-related stock, it helps to work through a few key questions.

1. Start with the Revenue Model

Some companies generate revenue directly from AI products, such as subscriptions, API access or enterprise licensing. Others benefit indirectly because AI makes their existing business more efficient or competitive. Both can be valid investments, but they carry different risk profiles. A company whose entire value is tied to AI adoption faces more concentrated risk than a company for which AI is one of several revenue drivers.

2. Look at the Competitive Position

The AI landscape is moving fast, and today’s leader can lose ground quickly. Ask whether the company has a defensible advantage, whether that comes from proprietary data, exclusive partnerships, switching costs or scale. A model or product that can be replicated at lower cost by a well-funded competitor is a weaker investment than one with structural advantages that are harder to copy.

3. Examine the Path to Profitability

Many AI companies are growing revenue quickly while spending heavily on compute, infrastructure and talent. That is not unusual for early-stage technology companies. Still, the gap between revenue and losses matters. A company burning through capital faster than it is growing revenue faces a different set of risks than one with improving margins and a visible path to profitability.

4. Consider Valuation in Context

AI stocks often trade at high multiples of revenue because investors are pricing in future growth. That can be justified, but it also means there is less room for disappointment. A company priced at 50 or 100 times revenue needs to execute consistently over many years for that valuation to hold up. Comparing the valuation to peers and to the company’s own growth trajectory can help you assess whether the price reflects realistic expectations or speculative enthusiasm.

5. Pay Attention to Who the Customers Are

A company’s customer base is the final piece of the puzzle. One with a diversified base of large enterprise customers is on more stable ground than a company dependent on a single partner or government contract. Customer concentration is a risk factor that often gets overlooked in the excitement around AI growth stories.

Bottom Line

You cannot invest directly in OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT. However, that doesn’t mean you can’t invest in artificial intelligence. By seeking out companies and sectors most likely to profit off of data-driven, non-routine transactions, you can find companies that will likely thrive on this technology.

Investing Tips

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