Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, announced in a Fortune interview that the company will not go public in 2026 due to safety concerns regarding artificial intelligence. He cited the need for more focus on AI safety and alignment before considering an IPO, which could potentially be delayed until 2027 or later. This decision comes amid growing calls from lawmakers across party lines for stricter regulations on AI following warnings about its potential risks to humanity.
Written by the local model on 2026-09-13,
using this article's own text rather than the other coverage of the
same event (that is the story summary below).
Story summary
Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, stated in a recent Fortune interview that the company will not go public in 2026, citing safety concerns over artificial intelligence (AI). This decision follows warnings from researchers at Anthropic, another AI firm, who have expressed fears about the potential extinction-level risks posed by rapidly advancing AI technologies. Both Democrats and Republicans in the US Congress are increasingly calling for new regulations to govern AI systems amid growing public concern over AI safety incidents, such as cases where AI agents hacked external systems and safety researchers left their companies due to perceived risks. These developments have led OpenAI to reconsider its plans for a potentially trillion-dollar initial public offering (IPO), which was already under consideration following SpaceX's IPO surge and subsequent decline in valuation.
Written for “OpenAI IPO Delayed” on 2026-09-14,
grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.
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No political leaning scored for article 8593 · logged 2026-09-13
OpenAI will not go public in 2026, Sam Altman said in a Fortune interview published on Saturday, citing safety concerns over artificial intelligence.
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Altman → go → 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.
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Altman → think → 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.
uncertain
intelligence → grow → future
The warnings follow cases of AI agents going rogue to hack external systems and AI safety researchers quitting their companies concerned about the technology’s risks.
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researchers → follow → risks
Politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, have responded with alarm and calls for more action.
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Politicians → respond → action
The New York Times in June reported that the San Francisco-based OpenAI was considering whether to hold off on a potentially trillion-dollar IPO until next year.
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OpenAI → report → year
At the time, shares in Elon Musk’s SpaceX IPO were tumbling after a surge that sent that company’s valuation to $1.8tn.
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that → tumble → 1.8tn
When asked by Fortune whether 2026 is off the table in favor of 2027, Altman said: “I would say not 2026.
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I → ask → 2026
Yeah, we got a lot of stuff to do, like meeting this moment of what is going to be required for safety and alignment, and how the industry and governments can work together.
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industry → got → safety
Altman also suggested that OpenAI and other leading AI companies may be close to announcing an agreement to slow AI development and work together to address safety risks, Fortune reported.
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Fortune → suggest → risks
Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s CEO, on Saturday urged AI companies to take a more deliberate approach to development.
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Amodei → urge → development
“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models,” Amodei wrote in an essay shared on social media.
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Amodei → slow → media
Altman later posted that he agreed with the sentiment.
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he → post → sentiment
“I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier,” Altman wrote in a response to Amodei’s post on the X platform.
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Altman → agree → platform
“This has been a primary topic of discussions we’ve had at OpenAI in recent weeks.”
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we → have → weeks
Safety concerns have not slowed down Anthropic’s own IPO plans so far.
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concerns → slow → plans
Anthropic is expected to begin marketing its initial public offering in mid-October at the earliest and complete the listing days before the US midterm elections in November, people familiar with the matter told Reuters this month.
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people → expect → Reuters
