Employee stock compensation is part of the rocket fuel that has boosted SpaceX into orbit.

“We have not decided on timing yet,” OpenAI said in a news release, adding that “it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company.”

OpenAI has confidentially filed for an initial public offering, setting it up for what may be the most highly anticipated market debut in recent history and a massive payday for early investors.

Just a week ago, rival Anthropic confidentially filed its own draft S-1 with the SEC after raising $65 billion in fresh capital at a post-money valuation of $965 billion, overtaking OpenAI’s $852 bill...