OpenAI IPO will not happen in 2026 amid AI safety fears, Sam Altman says

OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, attends an event in Tokyo, Japan, on 3 February 2025. OpenAI's CEO, Sam Altman, attends an event in Tokyo, Japan, on 3 February 2025. OpenAI's decision comes after dire warnings about rapidly progressing technology and lawmakers' calls for new rules OpenAI will not go public in 2026, Sam Altman said in a Fortune interview published on Saturday, citing safety concerns over artificial intelligence . "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, OpenAI's CEO, told Fortune . Growing numbers of US lawmakers are calling for new rules to govern AI systems after dire warnings from two researchers from OpenAI rival Anthropic that rapidly progressing artificial intelligence could lead to the extinction of the human race in the not-too-distant future.