OpenAI is eyeing an initial public offering before the end of the year, hoping to beat rival artificial-intelligence startup Anthropic to the punch, the Wall Street Journal reported late Thursday.

Citing sources familiar with the matter, the Journal said OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is holding informal talks with bankers and laying the groundwork for an IPO in the fourth quarter.

OpenAI, currently valued around $500 billion, has accelerated its fundraising, reportedly hoping to raise up to $100 billion, while Anthropic, which makes the Claude chatbot, is said to be looking to raise about $20 billion.

Separately Thursday, the Journal reported that Amazon (AMZN) is in talks to invest up to $50 billion in OpenAI. And Japan's SoftBank (JP:9984) is reportedly considering investing up to $30 billion in OpenAI.

Both OpenAI and Anthropic have been bleeding money, losing billions of dollars annually as they race for the upper hand in the fast-growing artificial-intelligence field. Anthropic hopes to break even in 2028, while OpenAI doesn't foresee turning a profit until 2030, the Journal reported in November.

All of that could make 2026 a huge year for IPOs; Elon Musk's SpaceX is reportedly aiming to go public as soon as June, and Anthropic is also reportedly hoping for a public offering before year's end.

SpaceX's IPO could be among the biggest ever, raising more than $30 billion and valuing the space-launch company at as much as $1.5 trillion.