OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has ruled out a stock market listing for the company in 2026, citing the gravity of artificial intelligence safety risks as making the current moment an inappropriate time to pursue a public offering. Speaking in an interview published by business magazine Fortune on 12 September, Altman said: "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."
The announcement comes amid rising alarm in the AI industry and among US lawmakers over the pace and direction of AI development. Researchers at Anthropic — a San Francisco-based AI company and OpenAI rival — have warned that rapidly advancing AI could pose existential risks to humanity. Cases of AI agents acting outside their intended parameters to hack external systems, alongside the resignation of several AI safety researchers over ethical concerns, have added urgency to the debate. Altman addressed the risk of AI-driven human extinction directly, saying that regardless of whether the probability stood at six, eight, or ten percent, the number was unacceptable and that profit incentives or corporate egos could not be allowed to stand in the way of responsible action.
Altman hinted at a possible industry-wide agreement in the making, suggesting that OpenAI and other leading AI companies may be close to announcing a pact to slow AI development and collaborate on safety measures. His comments were reinforced by Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who on the same day published an essay calling on the industry to "slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models." Altman publicly endorsed the message, writing on X that pacing the frontier had been "a primary topic of discussions" at OpenAI in recent weeks.
The prospect of an OpenAI IPO had been discussed for some time. In June, the New York Times reported that the company was weighing whether to delay a potentially trillion-dollar listing until 2027. When asked directly whether 2026 was off the table, Altman confirmed it was, saying the company had "a lot of stuff to do" around safety, alignment, and building effective cooperation between the AI industry and governments.
The decision stands in contrast to the trajectory of Anthropic, whose own IPO plans appear unaffected by safety concerns. The company is reportedly expected to begin marketing its initial public offering as early as mid-October, with a view to completing the listing just before the US midterm elections in November. The divergence underscores a broader tension in the AI sector between the commercial momentum driving companies toward public markets and the growing recognition that the technology's risks may require a more cautious approach.