OpenAI’s Sam Altman says it would be ‘ill-advised’ to go public in 2026

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has stated that the company will not be going public in 2026, despite filing for an IPO, according to CEO Sam Altman. Altman revealed this during an interview with Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell, who inquired about the company's pressure to "move really fast" due to its IPO plans. "We're not rushing into an IPO," Altman emphasized.

"I think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public." Altman made it clear that OpenAI's IPO will only happen "when we're ready, which is when the business is ready, when we feel ready from what the moment is like in society with this technology." When asked if this means the IPO won't occur in 2026, Altman responded confidently, "I would say not 2026, yeah.

We've got a lot of stuff to do." The New York Times had reported in June that OpenAI had been hiring bankers and lawyers in anticipation of a 2026 or 2027 IPO, citing the volatility of tech stocks and the company's own financial challenges as factors influencing the timeline.