OpenAI, Anthropic Eye Investment-Grade Ratings for Listings, Wall Street Begins Paving the Way

动察 Beating AI Flash: Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are in talks with credit rating agencies on behalf of OpenAI and Anthropic, aiming to secure investment-grade ratings for the two companies as soon as possible after their IPOs. Once upgraded, both firms could issue debt at lower interest rates, and institutions like pension funds and insurance companies—which rarely allocate to speculative-grade bonds—would find it easier to enter the market.

This could also ease pressure on partners. Nvidia has already provided up to $105 billion in credit support for OpenAI's Ohio data center. Regulatory filings state that this guarantee can be terminated once OpenAI secures a "satisfactory credit rating."

But rating agencies have yet to budge. Citing analysts at rating firms, FT reports that OpenAI and Anthropic are still viewed as clearly speculative-grade. Neither company has yet demonstrated the ability to consistently generate positive free cash flow.

Meta, Netflix, and Tesla all waited over a decade after going public before earning investment-grade ratings. SpaceX, which went public this year, quickly secured an investment-grade rating—a first among major tech companies.