Three of the most talked-about companies in the world are preparing to list on the US stock market. SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic, names that you may recognise from rocket launches, ChatGPT, or Claude, have spent years as private businesses funded by venture capital and private equity.
Between them, they could raise more money in 2026 than the entire US IPO market has raised in any year on record.
Sustainability considerations
Inclusion of these companies in EQ’s sustainable portfolios will vary and is still being evaluated by all our chosen fund manager partners.
Given their current private ownership, their lower level of transparency in corporate reporting leaves key points of disclosure uncertain. Strong sustainable investment approaches will take decisions on these companies once they have obtained more granular detail on revenue splits, governance models, Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) targets and strategy plans – all of this will be enabled post IPO.
Nevertheless, at high-level, we see a few key risks and opportunities for the sustainable investor.
SpaceX is the most complex case given its diverse revenue streams. Starlink offers the clearest impact argument, enabling digital connectivity in previously underserved regions, but its military contracts represent a material risk. The social media platform X, the environmental footprint of rocket launches, and the governance of AI engine Grok all carry significant social and environmental concerns. Elon Musk’s governance flag is unlikely to be resolved without a surprising shift at board level.
On ChatGPT and Anthropic: their core revenues, developing AI models, can be classified as a broad enabling technology. This is not inherently impact-aligned in itself; it depends entirely on end-use.
That makes company intent and ESG track-record the key differentiator. Both are currently structured as Public Benefit Companies, but Anthropic leads on AI safety and intentionality, declining military contracts to date being one clear example.
Both carry structural challenges, including the high environmental cost of running large models and the risk that their technology is used to enable unsustainable activities.
Our positioning
EQ’s portfolios employ different sustainability approaches and objectives, which may result in different holding decisions across these companies post-IPO. As a result, it is difficult to predict at this stage how each will be positioned.
Our preference is always to maintain the clear dual mandate of our portfolios including both financial and sustainable objectives, while managing the exposure to the long-run opportunity in areas such as responsible artificial intelligence.
The themes driving these listings are present in portfolios already, at least in part, just not in concentrated form.
Any questions?
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Please remember, this content is provided for information purposes only. Investment involves risk. Past performance is not a guarantee or indication of future results. Investment return and the principal value of an investment may go up or down and may result in the loss of the amount originally invested. All investors should seek professional advice prior to any investment decision, to determine the risks associated with the investment and its suitability.
