OpenAI will not go public in 2026, stated the company's CEO Sam Altman in an interview with Fortune. In his opinion, now is an "unfortunate moment" for an IPO due to AI safety concerns.
When asked if this meant postponing the stock listing by a year, he responded:
"I would say not 2026. Yes, we have a lot of work ahead, for example, to meet safety and alignment requirements, and to understand how the industry and governments can cooperate."
According to Altman, OpenAI is not under pressure regarding the listing and will return to it when both the business and the public context are ready.
He also said that OpenAI has discussed possible pauses in model development when reaching new capability levels to gain additional time for safety work. Altman suggested that leading AI companies might agree on joint steps to slow down development and reduce risks.
The CEO of OpenAI linked the possibility of such decisions to the company's corporate structure, which is divided between non-profit and for-profit parts. He emphasized that this model allows taking steps that are not always beneficial for business and shareholders but align with the mission.
In June, OpenAI confidentially submitted a Form S-1 filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a potential IPO. The New York Times reported a possible postponement of the stock listing to 2027. According to the publication, as well as Reuters, the potential valuation of the company could reach $1 trillion.
Recall that a U.S. Senate subcommittee began an investigation into OpenAI's actions following the July incident with Hugging Face.
