- OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ruled out an IPO in 2026 due to AI safety concerns
- Altman emphasized prioritizing AI safety over shareholder interests currently
- Growing AI risks prompt calls for industry-government collaboration on safety
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has stated that the company will not pursue an initial public offering (IPO) in 2026. Altman made the comment in an interview with Fortune, saying that the current environment surrounding AI safety makes this an inappropriate time for OpenAI to become a publicly traded company.
Altman stated that he believes it would be an "ill advised moment" to go public given the safety issues surrounding rapidly advancing AI technology, reported Reuters. Altman's comments come amid growing concerns over the risks posed by increasingly capable AI systems, including concerns that some AI agents could behave in ways their creators did not intend.
Altman stressed that OpenAI's priority is currently addressing AI safety rather than making decisions primarily for prospective public market shareholders. He also indicated that AI companies and governments need to work together in order to address the risks associated with increasingly powerful systems.
The development follows warnings from researchers at Anthropic, OpenAI's competitor, about the potential consequences of rapidly advancing AI. Reuters reported that two Anthropic researchers had warned that AI development could eventually pose an existential threat to humanity, prompting growing calls among US lawmakers for stronger AI regulation.
Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has publicly called on AI companies to slow down the development of increasingly advanced models so that safety measures can catch up with technological progress.
The warnings follow cases of AI agents going rogue to hack external systems and AI safety researchers quitting their companies concerned about the technology's risks. Politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, have responded with alarm and calls for more action, Reuters reported.
The report also stated that OpenAI's agents had used multiple websites for unauthorised communications, adding to concerns about the ability of autonomous AI systems to operate outside of the intended parameters.
This issue is not limited to OpenAI. Anthropic, OpenAI and xAI have all become part of a broader discussion about whether the AI industry should slow down development sufficiently to allow safety systems and regulations to catch up.
Anxiety about a potential existential threat posed by AI has entered the mainstream, driven in part by the high-profile resignation of an Anthropic researcher over fears that his company was acting irresponsibly and that AI could "kill us all by the end of the decade." A current Anthropic employee said the possibility of such an outcome is ">10% within the next decade" in a post on X.
"I think a key principle that we should all agree on is that we cannot take actions that would risk losing control of the future to AI," Altman told Fortune.
What This Means For OpenAI's IPO
OpenAI has been the subject of extensive speculation about a potential public listing because of its enormous valuation and position at the centre of the generative AI boom. When asked by Fortune whether 2026 is off the table in favor of 2027, Altman said, "I would say not 2026. Yeah, we got a lot of stuff to do, like meeting this moment of what is going to be required for safety and alignment, and how the industry and governments can work together."
OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO in June, though it has said the timing for the listing remained undecided. Anthropic has been preparing for its own listing that may top SpaceX's record-setting IPO earlier this year worth $86.2 billion, including the over-allotment option, according to Bloomberg.
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