OpenAI will not pursue an initial public offering in 2026, Chief Executive Sam Altman said, citing concerns over artificial intelligence safety and the potential risk that advanced AI could cause catastrophic harm.
Speaking to Fortune, Altman said going public at a time of heightened concern over AI safety would be unwise and that the company was under no pressure to list.
Asked about estimates that AI could have a 10% chance of causing human extinction by the end of the decade, Altman said he did not know how such a figure could be calculated. However, he said the possibility was serious enough for AI companies and governments to act as if such risks were unacceptable.
Altman said OpenAI had other priorities, including improving AI safety and alignment and working with governments and other companies to address emerging risks. He also indicated that leading AI firms could be close to reaching an agreement to cooperate on slowing AI development and improving safety.
The comments came as US lawmakers from both major parties called for stronger oversight following incidents involving AI agents acting unexpectedly and concerns raised by researchers over the rapid development of advanced systems.
Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei also called for a more deliberate approach to AI development, saying companies should slow the pace at which they improve the capabilities of frontier AI models. Altman later said he agreed that the industry needed to pace the development of its most advanced systems.
OpenAI had previously been reported to be considering a potentially trillion dollar IPO. Altman’s comments make clear that a 2026 listing is off the table, although the company has not ruled out going public later.
Anthropic, meanwhile, is continuing with its own IPO plans and is expected to begin marketing its offering as early as mid October, with a potential listing before the US midterm elections in November.
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