Goldman CEO Says Markets Are in ‘Greed’ Mode Ahead of AI IPO Wave

CNBC reported Tuesday that Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon believes investor sentiment has swung firmly toward greed, just as the largest AI IPO wave in history prepares to test public markets.

Speaking with CNBC’s Leslie Picker, Solomon said the AI IPO wave has arrived at a moment of abundant capital and elevated optimism. He described the current environment as one where greed has clearly eclipsed fear among investors.

Markets Flush With Capital Ahead of Historic Listings

Solomon said liquidity across equity and debt markets remains deep, provided the broader macro backdrop holds. He pointed to that available capital as the key enabler for landmark listings from OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX, each of which could seek trillion-dollar valuations when they come to market.

Goldman Sachs is playing a central advisory role in several of the deals, giving Solomon unusual visibility into the pipeline. He acknowledged the fundraising volumes are genuinely unprecedented but argued that record levels of accumulated wealth across global markets can absorb the supply.

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Alphabet Raise Seen as a Proof of Concept

Solomon pointed to Alphabet’s recently announced plan to raise $80 billion in equity as the first meaningful stress test of market appetite at this scale. The stock’s resilient performance after that announcement, he argued, demonstrates that investors are still actively welcoming large AI-linked capital raises rather than retreating from them.

He described it as an encouraging and concrete data point, one that supports confidence heading into a far larger queue of deals.

Background: A Long-Dormant IPO Market Stirs

The IPO market endured a prolonged freeze through 2023 and much of 2024 as rising interest rates crushed growth valuations and deterred listings. Activity began recovering in 2025, but the anticipated debuts of OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX represent a step-change in both scale and investor attention.

Both OpenAI and Anthropic have raised enormous sums in private markets, with valuations that have climbed sharply alongside surging enterprise demand for AI infrastructure. SpaceX, which encompasses Elon Musk’s AI venture xAI, adds further weight to an already historic issuance calendar.

Exuberance Can Last, Solomon Says

Solomon was careful not to dismiss risks entirely. He noted that greed can reverse into fear with little warning. But he framed the current moment as likely earlier in the cycle than later, suggesting the rally in risk appetite may have further to run before a meaningful correction takes hold.

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