TechCrunch says the IPO market is active again, but the leading names are no longer the classic FAANG companies. The episode centers on MANGOS: Meta or Microsoft, Anthropic, Nvidia, Google, OpenAI, and SpaceX. With several of these companies approaching public markets in the same window, Equity’s hosts discuss what that means for valuations, investors, and expectations for public tech companies in 2026.
The tech industry's shorthand for power is getting an update. As SpaceX, Anthropic, and OpenAI eye massive public market debuts, a new acronym — MANGOS — is emerging to replace the decade-old FAANG. The shift signals that AI and deep tech companies are becoming the new dominant forces in capital markets, displacing the platform and consumer internet era's giants.
OpenAI announced Monday that it confidentially submitted a Form S-1 with the US Securities and Exchange Commission. The move follows Anthropic, which reportedly made the same filing step on June 1. The Verge frames this as part of an IPO race between the two AI rivals, but the report does not provide timing, valuation, or offering details.
OpenAI said Monday in a blog post that it has confidentially filed for an initial public offering. The move comes a little over a week after Anthropic, its main rival, also filed to go public. TechCrunch notes that OpenAI was last valued at $852 billion post-money, making the filing a major marker in the AI sector’s race toward public markets.
OpenAI is reportedly preparing the biggest ChatGPT overhaul since launch, shifting it beyond a chat interface toward a “super app” built around agents, coding tools, and third-party services. The move is tied to higher-margin revenue, enterprise customers, and a potential IPO. ChatGPT may become a gateway that steers its massive user base toward products like Codex, image generation, and partner apps.
TechCrunch discusses Microsoft’s GitHub Copilot pricing changes as a sign that subsidized AI usage may be ending. As Anthropic and other major AI companies prepare for public-market scrutiny, profitability and usage-cost risks will become harder to ignore. The piece argues that higher prices, usage caps, and broader business-model changes may be necessary if AI labs want to survive beyond investor-subsidized growth.
OpenAI is reportedly preparing a revamped ChatGPT in the coming weeks, positioned as a “super app” with coding tools and AI agents. The strategy aims to improve competitiveness with Anthropic, especially for business users, while moving OpenAI closer to profitability before an IPO. TechCrunch frames this as a continued shift away from standalone “side quests” and toward ChatGPT as the central product gateway.