Elon Musk’s SpaceX is looking to raise $80 billion or more in its IPO, a haul that would make it the largest public offering in history, with The Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE:GS) set to lead the deal.

The Wall Street Journal reported on Monday that the $80 billion raise would be roughly three times Saudi Aramco’s $26 billion offering in 2019, the current record.

At a valuation of around $1.7 trillion, SpaceX would also rank among the most valuable companies ever to go public.

After SpaceX absorbed Musk’s xAI earlier this year, its implied worth jumped from around $1.25 trillion to the $1.75 trillion-to-$2 trillion range now circulating.

Starlink, SpaceX’s profit engine, doubled its operating income to $4.42 billion last year, according to Reuters. The newly absorbed xAI does the opposite, posting a roughly $6.4 billion operating loss and burning an estimated $14 billion in cash as Musk reshapes SpaceX into an AI-first company.

For the banks, the deal is a windfall. University of Florida finance professor Jay Ritter said that even at a 2% spread, total underwriting fees could approach $1 billion, likely the richest underwriting payday in IPO history. Goldman won the top spot ahead of Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS), Bloomberg reported.

To move that much stock, SpaceX is leaning on Musk’s retail base, reportedly reserving up to 30% of shares for retail investors against the 5% to 10% typical of large listings.

What Prediction Markets Say

Polymarket traders give a 77% chance that the IPO is completed by June 15.

Polymarket gives a 71% chance that SpaceX will be valued at over $2 trillion.

The Risks Behind The Hype

Analysts have warned that mega-IPOs often struggle after debut, and a company already worth nearly $2 trillion has far less room to run than a smaller name.

A contractor recently died at SpaceX’s Starbase facility in Texas just days before a planned Starship launch.

The wealth is already real for some. The Journal reports Darsana Capital Partners, a little-known hedge fund with nearly 60% of its assets in private SpaceX shares, stands to clear over $10 billion.

With OpenAI and Anthropic both eyeing IPOs this year, SpaceX filing first looks like a play to soak up the market’s available AI capital and lock in a premium valuation before rivals dilute the pool.

Image: Shutterstock