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

Read the original at The Guardian ↗
Cite

Reuters. (2026, September 13). OpenAI IPO will not happen in 2026 amid AI safety fears, Sam Altman says. The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/sep/12/openai-delays-ipo-sam-altman-ai-safety-concerns

Dated when The Aporia collected the article, usually within hours of publication. Check the original for its exact date and byline.

The Guardian · collected 2026-09-13 · by Reuters

Quick Summary

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 AI on 2026-09-13, from this article's own text only (the story summary below draws on all the coverage).

AI analysis

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 2026-10-28, grounded in this article and the 0 other(s) covering the same event.

Story

📰 OpenAI IPO Delayed
Technology · 1 article(s) covering the same event.

Compared with similar articles

This article reads unscored and hedges 12% of its claims. Each row says how that neighbour differs.
CBS News
Hedges 5 of 42 claims Outlet record 66/100
“The articles cover different statements by CEOs of competing AI companies regarding safety concerns and growth rates of AI technology.”
September 13, 2026 Different event
Letters from an American
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 10 of 65 claims
“The articles describe different events: one is Sam Altman's statement about OpenAI not going public due to AI safety concerns, while the other discusses Dario Amodei's essay on slowing down AI development.”
The Straits Times
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 14 claims Outlet record 68/100
“The articles describe different events, with Article A focusing on OpenAI's decision not to go public due to safety concerns and Article B discussing Microsoft's release of a new manifesto for AI development.”
Semafor
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 3 claims Outlet record 60/100
“The articles discuss different aspects of OpenAI's and Anthropic's financial activities related to IPOs; Article A focuses on safety concerns delaying an IPO, while Article B discusses efforts to obtain credit ratings ahead of potential IPOs.”
ABC News (US)
Hedges 0 of 16 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles describe different events related to OpenAI's stance on AI safety, but they are not reporting on the exact same occurrence.”
ABC News (US)
⚖️ Leans left Hedges 1 of 2 claims Outlet record 70/100
“Article A discusses warnings about AI control and safety, while Article B specifically mentions OpenAI's decision regarding an IPO due to safety concerns. They cover related topics but describe different events.”
AI Slowdown Different event
Reason
Hedges 3 of 43 claims Outlet record 67/100
“The articles discuss related concerns about AI safety but describe different aspects of the issue — one focusing on OpenAI's decision regarding an IPO and the other on employee resignations at Anthropic.”
ABC News (US)
Hedges 6 of 43 claims Outlet record 70/100
“The articles refer to different points in time and distinct aspects of Altman's statements about AI safety and development pace, not the same specific occurrence.”
Semafor
Hedges 1 of 6 claims Outlet record 60/100
“Article A focuses on Sam Altman's statement about OpenAI not going public due to safety concerns, while Article B discusses a broader market reaction to AI companies endorsing slower development and the impact on stocks.”
Washington Examiner
⚖️ Leans right Hedges 0 of 21 claims Outlet record 70/100
“While both articles discuss Sam Altman's comments on AI safety, they describe different instances or phases of his statements and the public reaction to them.”
How this article was measured signals, leaning charts, publisher record, byline, topics and claims

Signals How these are calculated →

Claims extracted
17
sentences that state something as happening or true
Uncertain
12%
2 of 17 hedged ("reportedly", "may", "according to")
Leaning
not political
takes no side on a contested political question
Publisher signals
67/100
The Guardian's corrections and hedging, across everything collected from it. Not a measure of accuracy.
Outlets on this story
1
Technology
Same framing elsewhere
1
articles that frame the event the way this one does
Analyzed 2026-09-13 · how these are computed

How this is being covered How these are calculated →

Article leaning vs. publisher reliability
Source leaning vs. consistency

Publisher

The Guardian · 1757 article(s) · 5 correction(s) detected
Running correction rate · 5 correction(s)

Who wrote this

Reuters
738 article(s) here · 1 carrying a prediction
🔮 The FTC will use the information to eventually publish a study to help inform regulators and lawmakers about personalized pricing and wage setting practices.
🔮 Netanyahu set to remain caretaker PM after inconclusive Israel election The success of Arab Israeli parties at the polls leaves rival Eisenkot little realistic path to power without their broad backing Benjamin Netanyahu looked set to remain Israel’s caretaker prime minister after unexpectedly strong backing among Jewish voters left his opponents little apparent prospect of unseating him, despite his right-wing bloc losing its parliamentary majority. With nearly 86 per cent of votes tallied on Wednesday, Israel’s three main broadcasters projected Netanyahu’s bloc of right-wing, far-right and ultra-Orthodox parties would win 53 seats in the 120-seat Knesset, well ahead of the 48 for rival Gadi Eisenkot’s opposition bloc.
🔮 The Bank of Canada (BoC) has raised its key interest rate for the first time in more than three years and warned that further increases might be needed to prevent soaring energy costs from fueling broader inflation.
🔮 Apple is expected to unveil its first touchscreen MacBooks on Wednesday, abandoning a long-held aversion to the technology as it caps a burst of product launches ahead of the crucial holiday shopping season.
🔮 Putin says the West is ‘enriching themselves fabulously’ at Africa’s expense and trying to drive Africans back into debt bondage The Kremlin chief was speaking at the third Russia-Africa Summit in Moscow, a two-day event attended by African leaders and government delegations from 48 countries, during which he will hold one-on-one talks with many of the 22 individual African leaders attending on everything from trade to security, arms deals and grain supplies.
🔮 Footage by regional Castilla La Mancha Television showed a derailed train with at least one carriage remaining on an elevated section of track while twisted metal, broken panels and wreckage could be seen strewn across an embankment beneath the line.
🔮 Robert Williams III had 14 points and 10 rebounds and Toumani Camara added 12 points for Portland.
🔮 “If we get past the elections without renewed strikes on Iran, that might be enough for the market’s risk premium to start eroding,” they added.
🔮 “Well, I would approve.
🔮 The disclosure about the rising cost of the Iran war comes as Republicans wrestle with the political fallout of the unpopular conflict ahead of the November 3 election that will determine control of Congress for the next two years.
Wire or desk byline, not an individual reporter.
Also by Reuters
Nothing else under this byline is closely related to this article, so these are simply their most recent.
All 738 articles by Reuters →

Topics

Anthropic Democrats Fortune OpenAI Republicans

Subjects

OpenAI ORG · 6× Altman PERSON · 5× Anthropic ORG · 4× Fortune ORG · 4× Amodei PERSON · 2× Dario PERSON · 2× Democrats NORP · 1× Republicans NORP · 1× Sam Altman PERSON · 1× The New York Times ORG · 1×

Narrative

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.
framing: assertive · carried by 1 article(s) · first seen 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.
2026-09-13 · The Guardian
OpenAI IPO will not happen in 2026 amid AI safety fears, Sam Altman says · assertive framing

Claims (17 extracted, 2 hedged)

OpenAI will not go public in 2026, Sam Altman said in a Fortune interview published on Saturday, citing safety concerns over artificial intelligence. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
researchers → follow → risks
Politicians, both Democrats and Republicans, have responded with alarm and calls for more action. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. asserted
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. uncertain
Fortune → suggest → risks
Dario Amodei, Anthropic’s CEO, on Saturday urged AI companies to take a more deliberate approach to development. asserted
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. asserted
Amodei → slow → media
Altman later posted that he agreed with the sentiment. asserted
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. asserted
Altman → agree → platform
“This has been a primary topic of discussions we’ve had at OpenAI in recent weeks.” asserted
we → have → weeks
Safety concerns have not slowed down Anthropic’s own IPO plans so far. asserted
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. asserted
people → expect → Reuters
💬Give feedback
🕘History 🎫Support