The IPO wave will enshrine the AI gods’ control over the future

After weeks of waiting with bated breath, investors finally have sight of the prospectus for the initial public offering of SpaceX. OpenAI and Anthropic could join Elon Musk’s firm in floating shares later this year. These IPOs will reveal that the race to control frontier AI is defined not only by their epochal vision and scale, but by the concentration of corporate control. All three firms have sought to govern cutting-edge technologies with custom-made rules, departing from contemporary corporate governance and its well-worn systems designed to thwart unfettered control by an individual through effective board oversight, risk-based incentive structures and robust succession plans.