Which of the three big AI IPOs should you buy?

Key insights

• As private AI giants look to launch IPOs in 2026, research from PitchBook suggests the market is rewarding story over substance as companies with the highest valuations are based on the weakest business fundamentals.
• OpenAI has the largest brand and the highest valuation, but its key business metric — how much revenue it retains from enterprise customers — has never been disclosed.
• Databricks has faster growth than its nearest public peer, positive free cash flow, and a valuation that is cheaper by any adjusted measure.
• Anthropic’s path to a premium valuation passes over a single hurdle in the near term: whether its gross margins reach 40% in 2026.

Three of the biggest names in the artificial intelligence revolution appear to be on track to launch initial public offerings in 2026 amid a wave of hype, massive valuations and, for most investors, very little visibility of the companies behind them.

OpenAI, Anthropic and Databricks are expected to go public this year, and they…