SpaceX debut marks a turning point for Big Tech fundraising

2026-06-13

SpaceX, the US company that works on space and artificial intelligence (AI) businesses, listed on Nasdaq on the 12th. The huge initial public offering (IPO) is seen as a milestone that may reverse a quarter-century trend toward keeping companies private since the dot-com bust. In the market, a scramble for capital has begun in anticipation of the arrival of a 'big public era' for raising growth funds.

New share issuance accelerates

Among US Big Tech firms, moves toward equity financing are spreading rapidly. The funds SpaceX raised through its IPO reached $75 billion, far exceeding the $29.4 billion IPO by Saudi Aramco in 2019.

In the AI development race, each company needs to secure investment funds worth tens of trillions of yen. Alphabet (Google) this month announced a plan to issue $84.7 billion in shares, more than SpaceX. Oracle is also moving ahead with a plan to raise $40 billion through new shares and bonds. According to the Financial Times, Meta is also considering a share offering worth tens of billions of dollars.

In generative AI, Anthropic and OpenAI are competing to be next after SpaceX to go public. Market participants expect both companies to list in September or October, with proceeds reaching about $50 billion each.

The role of stock markets is changing

Goldman Sachs expects the ratio of share issuance to market capitalization in 2026 to rise from 0.6% in the previous year to 1.8%, approaching the 2.0% pace of share buybacks. If issuance continues to build, it could exceed buybacks for the first time in 23 years.

This shows that the stock market, which had become a venue for shareholder returns as companies handed cash back to the market, is regaining its original function of supplying growth capital. Large fundraisings by Big Tech are likely to prompt a reassessment of the market's role and purpose itself.

Private ownership trend reverses

The string of giant IPOs reflects a turning point in the quarter-century-long shift toward private ownership of companies. Company privatization accelerated after the 2000 collapse of the dot-com bubble. Accounting fraud at Enron and WorldCom came to light one after another, and the Sarbanes-Oxley Act was enacted to require stronger internal controls at listed companies.

Companies that disliked higher listing costs left the market, and the number of US listed companies almost halved from 8,090 in 1996 to 3,908 in 2025. Buyout funds and venture capital (VC) funds became the main outlets for privatization.

However, these funds also eventually want to take their holdings public and secure gains on sale. As the AI boom lifts the valuation of public markets, the current market has become an attractive exit venue for funds and startups alike.

Sustainability of the big public era

There is a view that abundant liquidity will help the market absorb the rush of equity offerings. Ryota Sakanaka, equity strategist at Citigroup Securities, said, 'The trend of excess cash in the world is strengthening again, and abundant liquidity can absorb it.'

While the US, Europe and Japan are tightening monetary policy through rate hikes, China continues to ease. But capital expenditure remains weak, and surplus funds are flowing into global financial markets. Excess liquidity originating in China is, in a roundabout way, pushing up stock prices around the world.

In the big public era opened by SpaceX, the three conditions for a bubble have come together: breakthrough technological innovation, excess cash and public speculation fever. Speculation is expected to spread beyond SpaceX shares to stock in Anthropic and OpenAI, both of which are expected to list in the future.

The direction of the bubble remains unclear. But how investors navigate this huge wave will determine the fate not only of investors but also of companies.

Enjoyed this article? Share it with your network!