Sam Altman Says OpenAI IPO Won’t Happen in 2026
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says the company is delaying its planned public listing as the company focuses on AI safety, alignment and cooperation with governments and other technology companies.
OpenAI will not proceed with an initial public offering (IPO) in 2026, CEO Sam Altman has confirmed. Speaking to Fortune, Altman said that given the current developments around AI safety, going public now would be an “ill-advised” move. He added that OpenAI does not feel pressured to enter the public markets before the company is ready.
Altman said OpenAI has significant work ahead on AI safety and alignment, including determining how technology companies and governments can cooperate as AI systems become increasingly capable. He indicated that the company wants the flexibility to make decisions about AI development that may not always align with the immediate interests of shareholders.
The decision comes amid a renewed debate within the technology industry about the pace of AI development. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for companies to slow the rate at which they improve AI capabilities so that safety measures can keep pace. Altman subsequently said he agreed with the need to “pace the frontier” and indicated that discussions about coordinated safety measures have been taking place at OpenAI.
OpenAI had previously been linked to plans for a potentially major public offering. Reports earlier in 2026 suggested that the company had been preparing for a possible IPO, with some estimates placing a potential valuation in the hundreds of billions of dollars or higher. The latest comments mean that any listing will occur later than 2026, although Altman has not announced a fixed IPO date.
The postponement also comes as OpenAI continues to require substantial investment to expand its AI infrastructure and products. Recent reporting says the company is still considering additional private financing, potentially at a valuation around $1.2 trillion, while continuing to evaluate the timing of a future public listing. The situation means OpenAI remains privately held for now, with investors and markets watching both its financial growth and its approach to AI safety.
