VC
Value Add VC
โšกHomePulseโšกHelpful Apps๐Ÿ“Blog
โ† Value Add PulseIPO>$200B combined liquidity

After SpaceX's $2T Debut, Investors Chase the 'Magnificent Three'

SpaceX's mega-IPO pushed its valuation above $2.7 trillion and record retail trading volume, fueling investor appetite for Anthropic and OpenAI's prospective listings -- a trio investors are now calling the 'Magnificent Three.'

>$2.7T
SpaceX peak valuation
+37%
First-week gain
$852B
OpenAI valuation
$965B
Anthropic valuation
>$200B
Combined potential liquidity
TC
Trace Cohen
Early-stage VC & angel ยท Founder, New York Venture Partners
July 22, 2026
2 min read
ShareXLinkedInEmail
THE RUNDOWN
1

SpaceX shares rose more than 37% in their first week of trading after the June 12 IPO, pushing the company's valuation above $2.7 trillion and setting record levels of retail and options trading activity

2

Investors are increasingly grouping SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI together as the 'Magnificent Three' of prospective mega-cap AI-adjacent listings, with the trio potentially pulling over $200 billion of liquidity from public markets combined

3

OpenAI was most recently valued at $852 billion and hopes to debut around $1 trillion; Anthropic, valued at $965 billion, would be listing at roughly 111 times its $9 billion annualized revenue run rate from the end of 2025 if it targets a similar $1 trillion mark

4

Market strategists are cautioning investors on how to actually play the next trillion-dollar IPO given SpaceX's own volatile aftermarket performance -- meaning the enthusiasm comes paired with real, well-documented execution risk

TC
The VC Read ยท Trace's TakeTrace Cohen

Calling these three the 'Magnificent Three' before two of them have even priced tells you how starved public markets are for genuine mega-cap growth stories right now. But SpaceX's own six-week round trip from pop to 39% drawdown is the risk disclosure hiding in plain sight -- anyone buying Anthropic or OpenAI's IPO on FOMO alone should study that chart first, not the hype cycle building around this trio.

SpaceX's historic IPO continues to reshape how investors think about the next wave of mega-cap tech listings. Shares surged more than 37% in the first week after the June 12 debut, pushing the company's valuation above $2.7 trillion and setting record levels of both retail and options trading activity -- evidence that public-market appetite for the biggest private tech names remains genuinely enormous, even if that appetite has proven volatile since (SpaceX has since traded down close to 39% from its post-IPO peak).

That combination of explosive initial demand and subsequent volatility hasn't cooled investor enthusiasm for what comes next. Market participants are increasingly grouping SpaceX, Anthropic and OpenAI together as a "Magnificent Three" of trillion-dollar-plus AI-adjacent listings, with Fortune's new reporting laying out how retail and institutional investors are positioning to play the next debut in the sequence.

โ€œOpenAI was most recently valued at $852 billion privately and is aiming for a roughly $1 trillion IPO valuation.โ€

The numbers underline both the scale and the risk. OpenAI was most recently valued at $852 billion privately and is aiming for a roughly $1 trillion IPO valuation. Anthropic, valued at $965 billion after its May Series H-1, would be pricing at approximately 111 times its $9 billion annualized revenue run rate from the end of 2025 if it targets a similar trillion-dollar mark -- though its revenue has grown dramatically since, reportedly reaching a $47 billion run rate by May 2026. Combined, the three companies could pull more than $200 billion in liquidity from public markets, an unprecedented concentration of mega-cap tech debuts within a single calendar stretch.

Market strategists quoted in the Fortune piece are explicit that this isn't a risk-free trade: SpaceX's own volatile round trip -- from IPO price to a 37% pop to a 39% drawdown, all within about six weeks -- is the clearest available evidence that public markets will test these valuations continuously rather than simply extending the private-market enthusiasm that got each company to its pre-IPO mark.

What to watch: whether Anthropic holds its rumored October listing target and how its roadshow narrative addresses the durability of its revenue growth, and whether OpenAI's 2027 timeline shift gives it a longer runway to build a cleaner public-market growth story than either of the other two.

ShareXLinkedInEmail
More onSpaceX โ†’Anthropic โ†’OpenAI โ†’

Originally reported by Fortune. Analysis and editorial commentary by Value Add Pulse.

โ† Back to Pulse

THE WIRE in your inboxโ€” Tech, startup & VC news with Trace's take. Free, no spam.

Read Next

IPO

After SpaceX's $2T Debut, Investors Eye Anthropic and OpenAI

With SpaceX trading as a roughly $2 trillion public company, market strategists are now mapping out how retail and institutional investors could get exposure to the next trillion-dollar AI IPO candidates, Anthropic and OpenAI.

IPO

US Biotech Axiom Chooses Hong Kong Listing Over Wall Street

US biotech firm Axiom AIOSciences is listing in Hong Kong before pursuing a US listing, a reversal of the usual playbook that reflects how competitive Asian capital markets have become for biotech and AI-adjacent listings.

IPO

SpaceX Sets Earnings Date That Triggers First Big Share Unlock

SpaceX snapped a seven-day losing streak and set an earnings date that coincides with its first major post-IPO share-lockup expiration, a milestone that historically pressures newly public stocks as insiders become free to sell.

@Trace_Cohenยทt@nyvp.com