Goldman Sachs Chief Executive David Solomon said Tuesday that financial markets are awash with capital as several leading artificial intelligence companies move toward public listings. Speaking on CNBC with Leslie Picker, Solomon characterized the current market environment as tilted toward optimism and risk appetite rather than fear.
Solomon named OpenAI, Anthropic and SpaceX among the firms preparing initial public offerings that could reach valuations at the trillion-dollar level. He said this wave of potential listings is occurring against a backdrop of substantial liquidity across the system, provided global sentiment remains constructive.
"There's plenty of liquidity in the system if the world continues to remain as optimistic," Solomon said. "We are definitely in a moment where there's more greed than there is fear."
As evidence that markets are receptive to large scale AI-related financings, Solomon pointed to Alphabet's market response after the company announced an $80 billion equity raise. "The stock is trading very well," he said, calling Alphabet's move the first concrete example of bringing a financing of that magnitude to market and describing it as encouraging.
Solomon also observed that companies tend to take advantage of favorable financing conditions. "When capital's available, if you're capital consumptive and it's available, take the capital," he said, noting that Goldman Sachs is participating in a number of the planned transactions tied to the fundraising wave.
While describing the current fundraising activity as unprecedented in size, Solomon linked it to record levels of wealth and liquidity supporting firms and investors. He suggested that gains realized by AI companies could generate further economic activity, as employees and investors redeploy proceeds into taxes and new ventures.
At the same time, the CEO acknowledged the inherent volatility of sentiment. "Greed can turn into fear very quickly, but that doesn't mean it will," he said. "Exuberance can go on for big periods of time. There's a good chance that we're earlier in the cycle than later."
The remarks come as market participants consider how much capital is available to underwrite and invest in some of the largest prospective listings in the technology sector, and how fund flows and sentiment might influence valuation and timing.
Investment spotlight - The piece referenced questions about individual stock investments, including inquiries about a potential $2,000 allocation to GOOGL; the broader commentary focused on market-level liquidity and deal activity rather than investment advice for individual investors.