OpenAI Puts Off 2026 IPO as Sam Altman Raises AI Safety Concerns

Sam Altman’s OpenAI is no longer planning to go public in 2026 as rising AI safety concerns reshape its IPO plans. CEO Sam Altman stated that the OpenAI IPO this year could be “ill-advised.” These comments come amid growing pressure on AI companies to take a more cautious approach to developing advanced models and improve safety measures. Thus, OpenAI may now push its much-awaited public debut to 2027.

OpenAI delays IPO; Here’s why

According to a CNBC report, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has confirmed that the company is not moving forward with its public debut this year. Altman pointed to growing concerns around the safety of increasingly powerful AI systems. He stated that the OpenAI IPO may happen only in 2027, as the company had previously hinted. He added:

“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.”

During an interview with Fortune, Altman was asked about the possibility of AI causing human harm. But he stated that he was not sure about it. He added that this possibility is very serious and thus AI companies and governments should give much importance to it. Altman further noted, “Whether it’s 10 or eight or six, ​the point is, we all have a tremendous amount of responsibility, and cannot let egos or incentives for profit or anything else get in the way.”

AI safety concerns continue to grow

Interestingly, Sam Altman’s comments come amid increasing concerns over AI safety. This debate has significantly grown recently following a series of alarming incidents across the industry. There were some cases where AI systems were used to hack websites such as Hugging Face.

Recently, Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei urged AI companies to slow down the development of their most advanced systems. He noted:

“We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain. Two things have convinced me.”

Sam Altman and Elon Musk have also supported this idea. This created an unusual agreement between these three major competing figures. Altman suggested that OpenAI and other leading companies could soon agree on a joint plan to slow AI development. The platforms intend to address the growing safety risks linked to AI.

Anthropic calls for caution as AI models grow more powerful

Notably, Amodei has suggested a three-step plan to make AI developments safer. He doesn’t want to ignore or abandon the technology’s benefits. According to his plan, independent experts should get greater access to AI companies and check their safety practices. The plan also includes cooperation from governments to ensure AI safety.

The Anthropic CEO believes that the current situation is much different from a few years ago. According to him, today’s AI models are becoming more capable of interacting with the real world in an effective way. Thus, companies like OpenAI need to be more careful while dealing with such models.