SpaceX, Elon Musk’s rocket, satellite and A.I. company, is about to go public at a record-breaking $1.77 trillion. This summer, Anthropic and Open A.I. will follow suit, also with sky-high valuations. Are they worth it? The Opinion writer David Wallace-Wells and the contributing writer Natasha Sarin, an economist and law professor, tackle that question and discuss what these I.P.O.s mean for the American economy in the near future and beyond.

(The New York Times has sued OpenAI and Microsoft claiming copyright infringement. The companies have denied those claims.)

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This episode of “The Opinions” was produced by Jillian Weinberger. It was edited by Kaari Pitkin. Mixing by Carole Sabouraud. Original music by Sonia Herrero, Pat McCusker, and Carole Sabouraud. Fact-checking by Mary Marge Locker and Kate Sinclair. Audience strategy by Shannon Busta and Kristina Samulewski. The deputy director of Opinion Shows is Alison Bruzek. The director of Opinion Shows is Annie-Rose Strasser.

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