Altman Rules Out OpenAI IPO in 2026, Points to 2027
News Summary
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said on Friday, September 12, 2026, that it would be an "ill-advised moment" for the company to go public right now, ruling out an initial public offering in 2026 and pointing instead toward 2027 as the more realistic window. Altman made the remarks during an interview with Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell at OpenAI's San Francisco headquarters, Pacific Time, adding a fresh data point to months of speculation about when the ChatGPT maker will finally list on public markets.
What Altman Said
Asked directly whether an IPO would happen in 2026, Altman replied, "I would say not 2026, yeah. We've got a lot of stuff to do, like meeting this moment of what is going to be required for safety and alignment." He elaborated on the timing concern: "I actually think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don't feel pressure on that."
Altman also pushed back on the idea that OpenAI is racing toward a listing for its own sake, saying the company would go public "when we're ready, which is when the business is ready, when we feel ready from what the moment is like in society" with respect to the technology. He said OpenAI is "happy to delay" an IPO if that is what is required to get safety and alignment work right, and noted the company has internally discussed pausing further capability development at certain thresholds so that "society needs to contend with these models at each level of capability" before more powerful systems are released.
The Confidential IPO Filing
Altman's comments come months after reports that OpenAI had confidentially filed paperwork with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission for a future listing, reportedly in June 2026 Pacific Time. Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, and JPMorgan have been named in reporting as banks working with OpenAI on the potential offering. Early plans reportedly targeted a listing as soon as the third or fourth quarter of 2026, but that timeline slipped amid broader volatility in technology stocks and questions about the sustainability of OpenAI's spending commitments.
Signals From OpenAI's Own Finance Chief
Altman's caution echoes recent comments from OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar, who told employees in an internal all-hands meeting on August 19, 2026, Pacific Time, that OpenAI "will be a public company in 2027," though the timeline could move earlier if "our business continues to inflect." Friar reportedly described the eventual IPO as "not a finish line" but "another fundraise," referencing OpenAI's roughly 122 billion dollar funding round closed in March 2026, Pacific Time, which she said gives the company financial flexibility regardless of when it lists.
Growth in Revenue and Valuation
The delay is not being driven by weak business performance. According to Bloomberg reporting from August 13, 2026, Eastern Time, OpenAI's annualized revenue run rate surpassed 40 billion dollars, roughly doubling from the end of 2025, when the company's annualized revenue was reported at more than 20 billion dollars. OpenAI co-founder and president Greg Brockman told staff that the annualized run rate grew more than 20 percent month-over-month in July 2026 alone, with growth attributed in part to coding-focused AI products and an emerging advertising business.
OpenAI's valuation has climbed alongside that revenue growth. Multiple reports place the company's most recent valuation at roughly 850 billion dollars following its 2026 funding activity, with some reporting, including from the New York Times, suggesting OpenAI could be structuring itself to target a valuation near 1 trillion dollars by the time it eventually lists. Any public offering would, for the first time, require OpenAI to disclose its actual revenue, margins, and losses to public market investors, a level of transparency the privately held company has so far avoided.
Why Safety Is the Stated Reason for Delay
Altman tied the IPO delay explicitly to AI safety and alignment work rather than financial readiness, a framing that fits OpenAI's broader public messaging about approaching more capable AI systems cautiously. He suggested that going public while safety questions remain unresolved could create pressure to prioritize short-term shareholder expectations over longer-term technical and societal considerations. This rationale places OpenAI in a distinct position compared with other technology companies that have historically used an IPO as a milestone to demonstrate business maturity rather than a step to be delayed for research reasons.
What Comes Next
With Altman and Friar both now pointing to 2027 rather than 2026, attention shifts to whether OpenAI's revenue growth trajectory continues at its current pace and whether market conditions for large technology listings improve. Analysts and reporters covering the IPO process will likely watch for further regulatory filings, updated banker syndicates, and any additional public comments from OpenAI leadership as the company approaches the later stages of its path to becoming a publicly traded company.