Bankers set for $1bn AI fees bonanza: Wall St to cash in as SpaceX leads flurry of floats
Bankers could be in line for a one-billion-dollar fees bonanza as tomorrow’s SpaceX stock market float heralds the start of a series of mega listings in an ‘AI gold rush’.The heavily oversubscribed SpaceX initial public offering (IPO) is the world’s biggest ever, and represents a lucrative payday for Wall Street advisers.Firms led by Goldman Sachs are set to earn $500million as the rocket firm run by Elon Musk – valued at $1.8 trillion – sells $75billon of shares. And the fees will keep coming, with artificial intelligence giants OpenAI, which is behind ChatGPT, and Claude maker Anthropic coming to market in the months ahead.The three could be valued at a total of close to $4 trillion. If the combined IPOs from OpenAI and Anthropic raise the same between them as SpaceX, it could mean another $500million being showered on New York financiers, taking the total to $1billion or more. The heavily oversubscribed SpaceX initial public offering (IPO) is the world's biggest ever and represents a lucrative payday for Wall Street advisersSusannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club, said: ‘The race is on to extract money from the roar of enthusiasm surrounding the companies providing the backbone to the AI revolution. It is not just founders and investors who stand to benefit.‘The AI gold rush is crossing a new frontier and Wall Street’s dealmakers look set for a bumper payday.’Excitement is building ahead of the SpaceX listing with ordinary private savers and big financial institutions keen to be involved. A deadline for UK investors to do so passed last night.Sceptics say SpaceX, which includes a network of satellites as well as an AI venture, may be hugely overvalued as its price is premised on its AI revenues rising by a hundredfold. Its ambitions include operating data centres in space and even creating a colony on Mars.Yet reports suggest shares were more than four times oversubscribed – at a time of sharp volatility on markets.Some have suggested that selling pressure has been partly driven by investors offloading other stocks to pile into SpaceX. Middle Eastern sovereign wealth powerhouses Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund and the Kuwait Investment Authority have placed orders for shares worth $1billion to $5billion.The Qatar Investment Authority was also preparing to make a significant commitment, Bloomberg News reported.Analysts said London bankers and advisers are also set to cash in. Jason Hollands, managing director at Bestinvest, said: ‘While Wall Street will scoop the biggest slice of the fees, London won’t be left empty-handed. 'The City remains a key global hub for asset management, meaning UK-based equity sales teams and trading desks are likely to be involved. 'There’s also likely to be a halo effect for retail investing. Listings such as SpaceX and OpenAI will generate huge investor interest, boosting activity for investment platforms and stockbrokers.’DIY INVESTING PLATFORMSAJ BellAJ BellEasy investing and ready-made portfoliosHargreaves LansdownHargreaves LansdownFree fund dealing and investment ideasinteractive investorinteractive investorFlat-fee investing from £4.99 per monthFreetradeFreetradeInvesting Isa now free on basic planTrading 212Trading 212Free share dealing and no account feeAffiliate 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
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Bankers set for $1bn AI fees bonanza: Wall St to cash in as SpaceX leads flurry of floats
