This was supposed to be the year of blockbuster artificial intelligence IPOs, but over the weekend, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the company will no longer go public in 2026.
In an interview with Fortune, Altman said the IPO would be “ill-timed” given escalating concerns over AI safety and development. Altman told Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell that the IPO would not take place in 2026. Although many outlets have reported that the IPO will now take place in 2027, Altman told Shontell only that the IPO wasn’t happening this year, and that it will happen “when the business is ready.”
“I would say not 2026, yeah. We got a lot of stuff to do. And meeting this moment of what is going to be required for safety and alignment and how the industry and government is going to work together, and how to be able to do that as a private company,” Altman said.
OpenAI has reportedly been preparing for a likely trillion-dollar IPO this year, but in recent weeks, concerns over AI safety have reached a critical point.
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