The Artemis II mission has reignited enthusiasm for the exploration of space.

This renewed interest provides an opportune moment for Elon Musk, the world’s wealthiest individual, to divulge more information about the upcoming $1.75 trillion (£1.3 trillion) public offering of SpaceX, formally known as Space Exploration Technologies.

During a recent discussion with bankers, Musk indicated that up to 30 percent of SpaceX’s shares might be allocated to private investors.

The entrepreneur, who also leads Tesla, is aiming to take SpaceX public in June, aligning the launch with his 55th birthday on the 28th and a rare celestial event involving the alignment of Jupiter and Venus.

As excitement builds, insiders from the City report that crafting strategies around SpaceX has become a priority, despite uncertainties related to the Iranian ceasefire and debates over SpaceX’s astronomical valuation. If realized, this valuation would place it as the sixth-largest company in the U.S., a figure some consider overly ambitious compared to other space ventures or SpaceX’s future potential, which Musk believes will soar as high as his rockets.

The company, which includes the Starlink internet service and its satellite division, has already integrated with Musk’s artificial intelligence venture, xAI, which also owns the social media platform X.

The future: The SpaceX IPO will make global headlines, but Anthropic and OpenAI will still make a splash

The combined entity – officially called x.AI Holdings – also includes the AI agent Grok. Bankers, brokers and lawyers must incorporate Grok into their systems if they want to be part of the initial public offering (IPO). Is Musk seeking to ensure these advisers’ assent to the valuation, whatever their misgivings? Perhaps.

But this may not dim the excitement around this ‘generational IPO’. Hopes are high too that SpaceX could become as large a group as $3.8 trillion (£2.8 trillion) Apple or $4.4 trillion (£3.3 trillion) Nvidia, thanks to demand for Starlink, seen by many as the jewel in the crown, and SpaceX’s key role in defence.

But there is also the conviction that, when Musk reveals more details of the June blast-off for SpaceX on April 21, this could revive wider IPO enthusiasm.

War in the Middle East has lowered expectations that 2026 would be a bumper IPO year. But two major Silicon Valley start-ups still aim to go public. Anthropic, the firm behind the ground-breaking Claude AI system, and OpenAI, the ChatGPT firm.

Both hit the headlines this week: Anthropic said its Claude Mythos tool could pose a severe threat ‘to economies, public safety, and national security’; and OpenAI paused its UK Stargate project because of our high energy costs.

These planned flotations are a reminder of the era when an IPO, in the shape of British Gas or another privatisation, represented the chance of a windfall, and often sparked a passion for investing.

A trip into space, or a bet on the AI revolution, could rekindle this spirit. Here’s a guide to getting your ticket to ride.

REACH FOR THE STARS

By June, SpaceX’s IPO hype seems set to be huge, with much rational consideration of the company’s merits set aside.

Dan Boardman-Weston of BRI Wealth Management said: ‘This may mean that early private investors realise substantial gains, while anyone who invests later may have to pay a steep premium for future growth.’

A source of this for SpaceX will be the launch of data centres in Starship satellites in orbit. Data centres provide AI’s computing power. Peter Singlehurst, manager of Baillie Gifford’s Schiehallion fund, said that the US is running short of sites with the connectivity required for data centres. He added: ‘Scaling-up in space could be a better solution.’

David Coombs, of Rathbones, said: ‘We’re assessing the summer’s IPO prospects but would be most likely to opt for SpaceX.

‘We think it will be profitable, because of incredible proven technology and its wide ‘moat’, or competitive advantage.’

But Coombs voices the widespread anxiety over Musk’s leadership style.

He explained: ‘Musk runs Tesla as a private fiefdom, not a publicly quoted corporation.’

Taking a stake in SpaceX represents a big gamble on the mercurial Musk, who must excel at SpaceX to compensate for Tesla’s loss of dominance in the electric vehicle market to China.

BACK THE AI REVOLUTION

The SpaceX IPO will make global headlines, but Anthropic and OpenAI will still make a splash. OpenAI could be valued at as much as $1 trillion (£740billion) thanks to ChatGPT, which boasts 900m users worldwide, although the decision-making of its boss Sam Altman will be under scrutiny, following a critical piece in New Yorker magazine that has been shared on X by Musk.

Against this background, OpenAI is still racing with its $350billion (£260billion) rival Anthropic to go public in the autumn. Both are fast growing, but also lavishing vast sums on their large learning models (LLMs) which act like a brain for AI.

If you are setting aside cash for these IPOs, note the warning from Coombs that these LLMs could be ‘commoditised’ if they are replicated by Chinese companies, or a US giant such as Microsoft. Eyebrows will be raised if Anthropic and OpenAI do not allay these fears in their IPO prospectuses.

HOW TO CLIMB ABOARD

Further clarification of the promised (but not guaranteed) allocation of SpaceX shares to private investors should emerge over the next few weeks.

But you can secure a slice now of SpaceX and Anthropic (although sadly not OpenAI) through funds and trusts. The RIT Capital Partners trust backs both SpaceX and Anthropic, and SpaceX is the second-largest holding at Schiehallion.

This Baillie Gifford trust, named for a Scottish mountain formed 700m years ago, focuses on 21st century private companies, including SpaceX and Anthropic.

Schiehallion also holds ByteDance, the Chinese TikTok company, Vinted, the second-hand marketplace and Revolut, the banking app, which could IPO next year. Defence constitutes 10 per cent of the portfolio. Other Baillie Gifford funds also offer exposure to the IPOs of 2026. SpaceX is held by Edinburgh Worldwide and Baillie Gifford US Growth, both of which the US activist fund Saba is seeking to control.

Investors should still be able to benefit from the IPO, although the situation may be less clear-cut for anyone with money in Edinburgh Worldwide if Saba wins in forthcoming votes.

Fortunately, Saba has not encroached on Baillie Gifford’s Scottish Mortgage, where SpaceX is the number one holding. This trust (my foray into high-risk) has a chunk of Anthropic, too.

THE FUTURE…

SpaceX, OpenAI and Anthropic have stayed private until now because private equity investors provided plentiful finance.

Jonathon Marchant of fund management group Mattioli Woods says that such funds are becoming less available, which could bring forth more IPOs. Marchant adds that more flotations should emerge as big firms spin off divisions. This could be good news for the London market, which has suffered an IPO drought.

There have been rumours of a flotation for booksellers Waterstones, which together with its American sibling Barnes & Noble, is controlled by US activist investor Elliott. That’s the kind of IPO that bibliophile investors would like to read about.

DIY INVESTING PLATFORMS

AJ Bell

AJ Bell

Easy investing and ready-made portfolios

Hargreaves Lansdown

Hargreaves Lansdown

Free fund dealing and investment ideas

interactive investor

interactive investor

Flat-fee investing from £4.99 per month

Freetrade

Freetrade

Investing Isa now free on basic plan

Trading 212

Trading 212

Free share dealing and no account fee

Affiliate links: If you take out a product This is Money may earn a commission. These deals are chosen by our editorial team, as we think they are worth highlighting. This does not affect our editorial independence.

Compare the best investing account for you