Sam Altman of OpenAI Warns Against Going Public in 2026: A Cautionary Perspective
OpenAI has confidentially submitted its plans for an IPO, but the company’s CEO, Sam Altman, has clarified that it will not be pursuing a public offering this year.
In a recent conversation with Fortune’s editor-in-chief, Alyson Shontell, Altman addressed various concerns following the recent OpenAI-HuggingFace data breach and broader debates surrounding AI safety. Shontell inquired if OpenAI feels compelled to act quickly because of its IPO ambitions.
Altman responded, “We’re not in a hurry to go public. I believe that in light of current safety issues, now is not the appropriate time for an IPO.”
He emphasized that OpenAI intends to go public only “when we’re fully prepared, which will be determined by the business’s readiness and the societal context surrounding this technology.” When asked if this indicated no IPO would occur in 2026, Altman confirmed, “I would say not in 2026. We have a lot to accomplish first.”
The New York Times noted in June that while OpenAI had engaged financial advisors with aspirations to go public in the latter half of 2026, the company was likely shifting its timeline to 2027 due to fluctuations in tech stock performance and its own economic hurdles.
