Apple’s (NASDAQ: AAPL) intellectual property lawsuit against OpenAI (OPAI.PVT) is casting a long shadow over one of the most anticipated public offerings in recent memory.
Analysts now believe the legal battle could delay OpenAI’s IPO well into 2027, with the lawsuit raising serious questions about the company’s path to public markets.
Hennion & Walsh CIO Kevin Mahn told Yahoo Finance that the Apple accusation directly dampens the possibility of an OpenAI IPO happening this year.
Mahn also suggested the legal turbulence could have broader ripple effects, noting that the situation may similarly dampen the possibility of an Anthropic (ANTH.PVT) IPO in 2026.
The comments came during a panel discussion hosted by Kenny Polcari, joined by Neostellar Capital Corp Principal Willy Lee, who offered additional context on what the lawsuit signals about Apple’s competitive position.
Lee argued that the lawsuit reflects where Apple feels threatened, pointing to the company’s struggles to keep pace with the first wave of artificial intelligence development.
Despite Apple gaining over 50% in the past 12 months, Lee noted the company missed significant portions of the AI trade by not investing heavily in compute infrastructure and lacking its own large language model.
Lee highlighted that OpenAI, approaching one billion active users, has the distribution to reach consumers directly, a position that puts it squarely in competition with Apple’s carefully constructed ecosystem.
The panel also pointed to the significance of Jony Ive, who came from Apple and is now linked to OpenAI, as a factor that would reasonably concern Apple’s leadership looking three to five years ahead.
Mahn acknowledged that if OpenAI did in fact steal intellectual property, that would constitute a serious legal issue with real consequences for any public listing timeline.
Recent high-profile IPOs from companies like SpaceX and SK Hynix, which came to market at heavily oversubscribed valuations before seeing stock prices soften, may also be influencing OpenAI’s calculus on timing.
With Apple and Google identified as the dominant forces capable of eroding each other’s consumer strongholds, OpenAI’s legal entanglement with one of them adds significant uncertainty to an already complex market environment.
The consensus from the panel was clear: barring a swift resolution, an OpenAI IPO is now a 2027 event at the earliest.
