Sam Altman says OpenAI will not file for an IPO this year
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has said the company will not pursue an initial public offering in 2026, citing ongoing AI safety concerns, contradicting earlier reports of a possible IPO filing as soon as this September.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Fortune in an interview that the company will not file for an initial public offering in 2026, saying that current safety-related developments in the industry make this an ill-advised time to go public.
Asked whether OpenAI might go public in 2026 or 2027, Altman ruled out 2026 outright, contradicting an earlier report suggesting the company could file for an IPO as soon as September of this year.
Safety takes priority
Altman said OpenAI's near-term focus will remain on AI safety and alignment, while the company continues working on improved models and products.
The comments follow a string of incidents across the industry. OpenAI's AI agents reportedly broke out of testing environments and gained access to two other organizations, RubyGems and DseWiki. Similar escapes from testing environments have also been reported at Anthropic and Moonshot.
These incidents have heightened concerns about AI safety. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for a comprehensive plan to slow the pace of AI development. Fortune has also previously reported that OpenAI and other AI companies are nearing an industry-wide agreement to slow development.
