SpaceX filed for $1.75T IPO. Altman offered YC startups $2M in tokens. Oura going public at $11B.

Good morning!

Three IPO filings.

One tokenmaxxing deal. And a $28.5 trillion "total addressable market."

The intel:

SpaceX made its S-1 public this week, revealing a company aiming for a $1.75 trillion valuation—the largest IPO ever. Sam Altman walked into a Y Combinator event Tuesday night and offered $2 million in OpenAI tokens to all 169 startups in the batch, in exchange for equity. And Oura, the smart ring maker, confidentially filed for IPO at an $11 billion valuation after 4x'ing revenue in two years.

In today's private markets rundown:

• SpaceX: $1.75T IPO with AI bets and Starship dreams

• Sam Altman's "mic drop" offer to YC startups

• Oura's $11B smart ring IPO filing

• Quick hits on other deals this week

☕

Jose, Alberto, and the Founderscrowd team.

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🚀 SPACEX

The $1.75 trillion IPO: AI, Starship, and Elon at the center

What happened:

SpaceX filed its S-1 with the SEC on May 20, revealing plans to IPO on Nasdaq under ticker SPCX at a $1.75 trillion valuation. That would be the largest IPO in history.

The numbers:

• $1.75-2 trillion valuation target (Microsoft-sized, trailing only Apple and Nvidia)

• $75 billion expected raise (previous record: Saudi Aramco at $29.4B)

• Ticker: SPCX (Nasdaq and Nasdaq Texas)

• IPO date: June 12, 2026

• Lead underwriters: Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, BofA, Citi, JPMorgan

• 2025 revenue: $18.7 billion (Starlink = $11.4B, 61% of total)

• Q1 2026 net loss: $4.28 billion

• Accumulated deficit: $41.3 billion

What's actually in this company:

SpaceX isn't just rockets anymore. After absorbing xAI in February 2026 (which had absorbed X Holdings in March 2025), SPCX will trade as a vertically integrated group spanning:

• Rockets (Falcon 9, Starship)

• Satellite broadband (Starlink)

• Frontier AI (xAI, Grok models)

• Social media (X/Twitter)

• Future: Orbital data centers (doesn't exist yet)

The Starlink story:

• 10.3 million subscribers across 164 countries (up from 5M a year ago)

• 9,600 satellites (~75% of all active maneuverable satellites in orbit)

• Direct-to-cell service: 30 countries, 30 mobile operators, 7.4M unique devices/month

• ARPU problem: Falling fast—$99/month (2023) → $91 (2024) → $81 (2025) → $66 (Q1 2026)

That's a 33% decline in three years. SpaceX is pushing into lower-income markets and cheaper plans to scale subscribers, accepting weaker unit economics for growth.

The TAM claim:

SpaceX says it has "identified the largest actionable total addressable market in human history" at $28.5 trillion.

What does that even mean? The S-1 doesn't break it down, but the implication is: space launch + satellite internet + AI compute + social media + future orbital infrastructure = $28.5T opportunity.

Bold? Absolutely. Provable? We'll find out.

The valuation jump:

• December 2025 tender offer: $800 billion (~$421/share)

• February 2026 xAI merger: $1.25 trillion combined entity

• May 2026 IPO target: $1.75-2 trillion

That's more than 2x the December valuation in under 6 months.

Retail gets 30% of the float:

Goldman Sachs is allocating 30% of shares to retail investors—three times the standard mega-cap IPO norm. This is unprecedented.

Translation: If you want exposure, you'll get a shot. But at $1.75T, you're paying top dollar.

Why this matters:

1. This is the exit that opens the floodgates.

If SpaceX can IPO at $1.75T despite losing $4.28B in Q1 alone, every late-stage unicorn will feel emboldened to test the public markets.

OpenAI, Anthropic, Stripe—they're all watching. If this works, they're next.

2. It's a test of public appetite for mega-losses.

SpaceX has a $41.3B accumulated deficit. Cerebras lost money for years before swinging to profit right before IPO.

The question: Will public investors buy growth-at-all-costs in 2026? Or have we moved past the 2021 "growth > profitability" era?

3. Elon is at the center.

Elon runs SpaceX, Tesla, xAI, X, Neuralink, Boring Company, and now potentially plays a role in government efficiency (DOGE advisory).

How much of his time does SpaceX actually get? The S-1 doesn't say. But investors are betting on Elon, not just SpaceX.

Bottom line:

SpaceX is going public June 12 at a $1.75 trillion valuation. That's bigger than Microsoft. It's losing $4.28 billion per quarter. And it's claiming a $28.5 trillion TAM.

This is either the most ambitious IPO in history or the most overhyped. We'll know in three weeks.

🤖 SAM ALTMAN

The "mic drop" offer: $2M in tokens for every YC startup

What happened:

Sam Altman walked into a Y Combinator event Tuesday night (May 20) and offered $2 million in OpenAI API tokens to every startup in the current YC batch—approximately 169 companies—in exchange for equity.

The structure:

• $2 million per startup in OpenAI API credits (not cash)

• Uncapped SAFE (Simple Agreement for Future Equity)

• Converts at Series A: Equity stake determined by the startup's first priced round

• Total commitment: $338 million in compute access across the batch

Altman's reasoning:

"I am excited to see what will happen with tokenmaxxing startups, both for how they work internally and the products they can build."

What is "tokenmaxxing"?

It's the idea that AI API consumption is a core operating metric. Startups that treat compute throughput as productivity are "tokenmaxxing."

For these companies, $2M in OpenAI credits is functionally close to cash—it covers a meaningful chunk of their compute costs.

Why this is controversial:

1. Vendor lock-in.

You're surrendering equity for credits that can only be spent with OpenAI. You're locked into a single vendor at the earliest stage of your company.

2. Equity dilution with no cash.

Traditional VC gives you cash. This gives you tokens. If your startup pivots away from AI-heavy products, those tokens are worthless—but you still gave up equity.

3. OpenAI becomes stakeholder + infrastructure provider.

If OpenAI owns equity in your company AND you're dependent on their API, what happens when you want to negotiate pricing? Switch to Anthropic? Conflict of interest everywhere.

4. SEC scrutiny.

Altman is currently facing SEC scrutiny for self-dealing. This offer—made by the CEO of a company preparing to IPO—adds regulatory complexity.

Why founders might take it:

1. $2M in compute is real value.

If you're building an AI-first product, $2M in API credits can carry you 12-18 months. That's huge for a seed-stage startup.

2. Uncapped SAFE = unknown dilution.

You don't know how much equity you're giving up until your Series A. If you raise at a $50M valuation, OpenAI might get 4%. If you raise at $10M, they get 20%.

It's a gamble. But for founders who believe they'll raise at a high valuation, the dilution might be manageable.

3. Platform distribution.

Being in OpenAI's portfolio could mean preferential API access, early model releases, or co-marketing opportunities.

The bigger picture:

OpenAI isn't just making compute available. They're making a platform play.

By investing in 169 startups at once, OpenAI gets:

• Equity exposure to the next wave of AI companies

• Vendor lock-in for the entire YC batch

• Data on how startups use their API (usage patterns, feature requests, pain points)

• Network effects (the more startups use OpenAI, the more valuable the platform becomes)

Competitors are watching:

Anthropic, Google, and others have startup grant programs. But none have offered this magnitude of resources to a single cohort.

Expect copycats.

Why this matters:

1. Compute is the new currency.

Sam Altman just turned API credits into an investment vehicle. That's a new model for startup financing.

2. OpenAI is betting on "tokenmaxxing."

The theory: Startups that use AI heavily throughout their internal processes (not just in their product) will be the ones that win.

Whether that theory is right is still an open question. But OpenAI is betting hundreds of millions on it.

3. This could reshape early-stage funding.

If this works, every AI infrastructure provider will copy the model. Anthropic tokens for equity. Google Cloud credits for equity. AWS compute for equity.

Early-stage funding could shift from cash to infrastructure.

Bottom line:

Sam Altman offered $2 million in OpenAI tokens to 169 YC startups in exchange for equity. It's a platform play disguised as founder-friendly financing.

Founders who take it get compute. OpenAI gets vendor lock-in, equity upside, and a portfolio of AI-first startups.

Smart? Ruthless? Both.

💎 WHAT FOUNDERSCROWD PREMIUM MEMBERS SAW

Deep dive: How to buy SpaceX before IPO.

We broke down the secondary market opportunities:

• Where SpaceX shares are trading right now (Forge, EquityZen)

• Fair value analysis (is $1.75T reasonable?)

• IPO allocation strategies (how to get shares at $1.75T)

• Risk assessment (what could go wrong)

Key finding: Secondary market shares trading at ~$500-550 (implying $1-1.1T valuation). That's a 37-43% discount to IPO price. But liquidity is thin.

Next week: Sam Altman's tokenmaxxing thesis. Is compute-for-equity a good deal? We modeled dilution scenarios for YC startups and identified which ones should take the OpenAI offer (and which should run).

$10/month. Lock in before we raise to $220/month in June.

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💍 OURA

The $11B smart ring IPO filing

What happened:

Oura, the smart ring maker, confidentially filed for IPO on May 21. Valuation: $11 billion (based on October 2025 Series E).

The numbers:

• $11B valuation (October 2025 Series E)

• $900M raised in Series E (led by Fidelity, ICONIQ, Whale Rock, Atreides)

• 5.5 million rings sold (half in the last 12 months)

• $500M+ revenue (2024)

• $1-1.5B revenue (2025 estimate)

• $1.5-2B revenue (2026 guidance)

• 5 million paid members expected this quarter

• 80% subscription renewal rate after first year

• 4,600 retail locations globally

• 1,200 enterprise partners

Lead underwriters:

Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, Allen & Co, Jefferies

What Oura does:

Smart ring that tracks sleep, activity, stress, cardiovascular load, and women's health. Subscription model ($6/month) for personalized insights.

The growth story:

• Revenue 4x'd in two years (2024 → 2026 projection)

• Membership doubled year-over-year

• Valuation doubled in 10 months ($5.2B December 2024 → $11B October 2025)

Why the IPO now:

1. Market momentum.

SpaceX filed Wednesday. Cerebras IPO'd last week (popped 68%). The IPO market is hot. Oura wants in.

2. Category validation.

Wearables are proven. Apple Watch dominates. Garmin's fitness revenue up 42% Q1 2026. Whoop raised $575M at $10.1B (March 2026).

Smart rings are the next frontier. Oura wants to own it.

3. Revenue scale.

$1.5-2B in 2026 revenue is real. That's enough to support a public company.

4. Competitive pressure.

Fitbit (Google) just announced a screenless health tracker. Samsung, Apple, and others are exploring rings. Oura needs capital to stay ahead.

The business model:

• Hardware: Sell rings ($299-399)

• Subscription: $6/month for insights and AI-powered health coaching

• 80% renewal rate = sticky, recurring revenue

Why this could work:

1. The numbers are strong.

$1.5B revenue, 5M paid members, 80% renewal rate, 4x growth in two years. That's a solid public company profile.

2. Health data moat.

Oura has years of sleep, activity, and biometric data. That's valuable for AI models, partnerships, and future health products.

3. Subscription revenue.

80% renewal rate means predictable, recurring cash flow. Wall Street loves that.

Why this could flop:

1. Hardware is hard.

Apple dominates wearables. Garmin owns fitness. Whoop owns performance tracking. Where does Oura fit long-term?

2. Subscription fatigue.

$6/month on top of $299-399 hardware. How many people actually renew after year one? (Answer: 80%. But that could drop as competition heats up.)

3. Public market pressure.

Wall Street will demand growth. Can Oura keep 4x'ing revenue? Or does growth slow after the early adopter wave?

Bottom line:

Oura filed for IPO at $11 billion after 4x'ing revenue in two years. It's the first smart ring company to go public.

If this works, it validates the category. If it flops, it kills the smart ring IPO pipeline for years.

🔥 THE BOTTOM LINE

SpaceX filed for a $1.75 trillion IPO. Sam Altman offered $2 million in tokens to 169 YC startups. Oura filed to go public at $11 billion.

This week showed three things:

1. The IPO market is back.

$75B (SpaceX), $11B (Oura), plus Cerebras last week ($60B). After two years of drought, the exit window is opening.

2. New financing models are emerging.

Sam Altman just turned API credits into an investment vehicle. Compute-for-equity is now a thing.

3. Wearables are having a moment.

Oura ($11B), Whoop ($10.1B), Garmin (42% growth), Apple Watch, Fitbit. The category is exploding.

The lesson:

If you're building in AI infrastructure, wearables, or space tech—this is your window.

IPO market is hot. Investors are writing checks. Valuations are climbing.

But windows don't stay open forever. The companies that move fast win. The ones that wait? They miss the cycle.

See you Sunday for the week synthesis.

Until then, keep hunting. ☕

Jose, Alberto, and the Founderscrowd team.

P.S. Premium members: We're publishing the SpaceX S-1 teardown Sunday. Complete breakdown of the financials, TAM claims, xAI integration, and valuation model. Plus: which secondary platforms have shares, what price they're trading at, and whether you should buy before IPO.

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