• Sam Altman says he isn't concerned about which AI company rings the opening bell on Wall Street first.
• Altman's comments came hours after Anthropic filed paperwork for an initial public offering.
• OpenAI is also moving toward a public listing and is targeting a public debut later this year.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the AI industry's fiercest rivalry isn't about who reaches Wall Street first.

Hours after rival AI startup Anthropic revealed it had confidentially filed paperwork for an initial public offering, Altman downplayed the idea that the sector's biggest players are in competition over their anticipated IPOs.

"I think there is a race to deliver the best technology, build the best business, but you know, going public is a financing event, and I don't think that's one that we're focused on the timing of," Altman told journalist David Faber during CNBC's "Power Lunch" show on Monday.

A confidential filing usually comes about six to nine months before a company hits the public markets.

Anthropic's filing marks a major milestone in what is shaping up to be one of the most closely watched IPO waves in tech history. The company, which was founded in 2021 by former OpenAI employees, recently reached a valuation of nearly $1 trillion and has emerged as OpenAI's most formidable rival, thanks in large part to the popularity of its coding product, Claude Code.

OpenAI is also moving toward a public listing. Business Insider previously reported that the maker of ChatGPT has been preparing for an IPO and is targeting a public debut later this year.

Almant also pushed back on the notion that a single company will ultimately dominate the AI landscape.

"I'm confident it will not be, yeah," Altman told Faber when asked whether there would be a winner-takes-all situation in AI. "I think the world will demand — this is going to be such critical infrastructure for so many things that the world will rightly demand robustness in the system of multiple providers. I think it's a very good thing."

Alongside Anthropic and OpenAI, Elon Musk's SpaceX is also expected to pursue a public offering soon, setting the stage for three mega-IPOs that could reshape public markets and give everyday investors direct exposure to some of the most valuable private companies in the AI boom.

Anthropic did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Business Insider.