Bank of America flags room for major AI IPOs, citing potential public-market appetite

Bank of America is making the case that the public markets have enough capacity to absorb even unusually large initial public offerings, including those that could come from artificial intelligence startups such as OpenAI and Anthropic. In remarks reported by Yahoo Finance on Oct. 7, analyst J.D. Moriarty argued that investors are not limited to a narrow set of IPO sizes or business models, and that demand can extend to transformative, highly anticipated companies.

Moriarty’s comments, as summarized in the Yahoo Finance video, focused on how underwriters and issuers should think about timing and scale in the current environment. The core argument was that there is institutional demand for new listings that combine credible growth prospects with strong brand visibility, even when the companies involved are widely seen as “once-in-a-generation” technology bets.

The analyst also pointed to SpaceX’s path to a public listing as supporting evidence, suggesting the market showed it could absorb a major, long-anticipated company with a large valuation narrative. While that example does not guarantee outcomes for any specific issuer, it is consistent with Moriarty’s broader view that IPO momentum can carry beyond early waves and into other categories of large-cap potential.

OpenAI and Anthropic have both been discussed frequently in financial circles as candidates for future liquidity events, but they are not described in the Yahoo Finance report as having filed for or announced a specific IPO timetable. In other words, the reported point is less about a confirmed schedule and more about whether the capital markets would be able to absorb such offerings if they happen.

For Bank of America, the relevance of this theme is tied to how investment banks earn fees across underwriting, advisory work, and capital-markets services. When public markets are receptive, companies are more likely to consider IPOs, and banks compete for mandates. Even without a specific deal announced in the report, an articulated view on demand can influence issuer sentiment and how underwriters position their pipelines.

The financial sector context is that “AI IPOs” have become a recurring topic as markets look for growth narratives that can justify high multiples. Yet the transaction mechanics of an IPO still depend on conventional factors such as revenue trajectory, unit economics, governance, and the willingness of investors to hold concentrated risk. Moriarty’s comments, as presented, speak to appetite on the supply-and-demand side, not to how any particular company’s fundamentals will ultimately be priced.

The post also did not provide details on how Bank of America would measure “capacity,” such as a specific total dollar figure for upcoming IPO proceeds, a forecast for deal counts, or any scenario analysis for different valuation ranges. It likewise did not discuss lockup terms, expected underwriting spreads, or how market conditions like interest rates and equity liquidity could affect individual offerings.

Investors and company executives will likely watch whether other sell-side firms issue similar views on IPO readiness, and whether any AI-focused companies move from public speculation to concrete filings or formal announcements. If large AI IPOs advance, the market’s ability to absorb them will become a test of how durable demand is beyond a handful of recent mega-deals. Until then, the most immediate takeaway is Bank of America’s stance that the public market backdrop does not appear structurally constrained from handling very large, highly anticipated listings.