In an interview with Fortune, Sam Altman candidly shared his view: “I don’t think this is the right time to pursue an IPO. We are in no rush at all.” When asked whether an IPO plan is ruled out for 2026, he affirmed: “Definitely not 2026. We still have a lot of work to do.”
This statement was made against two key backdrops:
- The safety aspect: Altman shared: “I think accepting a 10% risk of the extinction of all humanity by the end of this decade is unacceptable.” Notably, this is also the risk level that many AI researchers, including personnel at Anthropic, have publicly agreed with.
- The financial aspect: Although The New York Times noted that OpenAI had worked with lawyers and banks to target going public in quarter 3 or quarter 4 of this year, the company decided to push the timeline back to 2027 due to tech stock volatility and internal financial challenges.
Interestingly, both OpenAI and Anthropic have filed confidentially for an IPO. Anthropic is expected to make its market debut as soon as this year, especially as Nvidia is in talks to invest $10 billion, which could value the company at $2,000 billion. If completed, this would be the largest AI IPO in history.
OpenAI’s decision to delay its IPO reflects the dual pressure facing major AI companies: racing to advance model capabilities while proving to the public and investors that the technology is being developed responsibly. With both Altman and Amodei talking about “cooling down” on the same day, the message is clear: the AI industry is entering a phase where speed is no longer the sole priority.