OpenAI will not go public in 2026, CEO Sam Altman said in a Fortune interview published Saturday, citing concerns about artificial intelligence safety. Altman said the company does not feel pressure to list while it addresses what he called the demands of “this moment” for safety and alignment.
Why Altman says the timing is wrong
Altman said a public offering would be “ill-advised” given current safety concerns. He said OpenAI has “a lot of stuff to do,” including determining what safety and alignment will require and how AI companies and governments can work together.
His comments come as US lawmakers from both major parties call for new rules governing AI systems. The debate has intensified after warnings from two researchers at Anthropic that rapidly advancing AI could, in the not-too-distant future, threaten human extinction.
Possible industry coordination remains unsettled
Altman suggested that OpenAI and other leading AI companies may be nearing an agreement to slow AI development and cooperate on safety risks, according to Fortune. He later agreed with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who urged companies to slow the pace of improvements in AI models. Read the context: Anthropic says AI models were targeted for biological and military misuse.
The IPO delay follows earlier reports that OpenAI was considering postponing a potentially trillion-dollar offering until the following year. Altman did not confirm that 2027 is the new listing date; he said only that 2026 was not the year.
Anthropic’s IPO plans have not changed
Safety concerns have not so far delayed Anthropic’s own IPO plans. People familiar with the matter told Reuters that the company was expected to begin marketing its offering in mid-October at the earliest and complete the listing days before the US midterm elections in November.
What happens next
OpenAI’s next stated focus is work on AI safety, alignment and cooperation between the industry and governments. Anthropic’s expected IPO marketing schedule remains mid-October at the earliest, according to people familiar with the matter cited by Reuters.
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