The OpenAI IPO will not happen in 2026, chief executive Sam Altman told Fortune in an interview published on Saturday 12 September 2026. Altman said a listing now would be an “ill-advised moment” because of the company’s safety work. The confidential paperwork OpenAI lodged with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission has not been withdrawn.
What Sam Altman Actually Said
Altman ruled out a 2026 listing in an exclusive interview with Fortune editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell, recorded on Friday 11 September at OpenAI’s San Francisco headquarters and published the following day.
Asked about going public, he 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.” Pressed on whether 2026 was off the table, he replied: “I would say not 2026. Yeah, we got a lot of stuff to do.”
He did not name a replacement year, and he did not say the offering had been cancelled. The reason he gave was safety work rather than market conditions or the company’s finances — a distinction most coverage of the interview compressed into the single word “delay”.
In the same interview Altman declined to put a figure on the risk of AI causing human extinction, saying: “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.”
The CFO Had Already Named 2027
Altman’s remark was not the first time OpenAI pushed the date back. Three weeks earlier, on Wednesday 19 August 2026, chief financial officer Sarah Friar told staff at an all-hands meeting that the company “will be a public company in 2027”, and could arrive sooner if “our business continues to inflect”. CNBC first reported those remarks, and several outlets carried the same wording.
Friar also told employees that “the IPO is not a finish line, it is a milestone, another fundraise”, and pointed to the money already raised: “We raised $122 billion in March, and that gives us flexibility.”
Read against that, Saturday’s interview confirms a timetable OpenAI’s own finance chief had already set out, rather than announcing a new one. What Altman added was the reason.
Where the IPO Paperwork Stands
As of 13 September 2026, OpenAI has a confidential draft registration statement on file with the SEC, the United States regulator that reviews company listings, and no public prospectus, no listing date, no exchange and no price have been announced.
A confidential filing is a normal first step in a US listing. A company submits a draft Form S-1 that the SEC reviews privately; the document becomes public only when the company chooses to flip it, which must happen at least 15 days before a roadshow begins. Until then, outsiders cannot see the revenue, losses or risk factors inside it.
Forge Global, a marketplace for shares in private companies, dates OpenAI’s confidential filing to 8 June 2026. Neither OpenAI nor the SEC has published the filing or confirmed a withdrawal, so the draft is best described as pending rather than pulled.
The Numbers Behind OpenAI’s Private Valuation
OpenAI remains privately held, so the figures below come from funding rounds and company statements rather than a market price. The growth Friar described predates the company’s GPT-6 Astra release on 3 September 2026.
| Measure | Figure | As of |
|---|---|---|
| Most recent private valuation | About $852 billion (post-money) | March 2026 round, per Forge Global |
| Capital raised in that round | $122 billion | March 2026, per CFO Sarah Friar |
| Overall revenue run rate | Up 35% quarter to date | 19 August 2026 all-hands |
| Enterprise revenue run rate | Up 50% quarter to date | 19 August 2026 all-hands |
| AI coding and work products | 20 million weekly active users | 19 August 2026 all-hands |
The trillion-dollar figure attached to OpenAI in much of the coverage is an estimate of what a listing might fetch, not a price anyone has paid. A post-money valuation is the number implied by the price investors paid in a private round; it is not a quote, and private shares do not trade continuously the way listed ones do. Rounds of this size have let AI developers stay private for longer, as Mistral AI did with its 3 billion euro Series D this month.
Whether Anthropic Lists First
The timing matters because Anthropic, OpenAI’s closest rival and the subject of its own disclosed model-safety incident this month, has been preparing its own offering. Fortune reported alongside the Altman interview that Anthropic is working towards a listing in mid-October 2026, ahead of the United States midterm elections in November. Anthropic has not published a date, a price range or a prospectus.
Friar addressed the prospect directly at the August meeting, telling employees there was no reason to worry if Anthropic went public first because “we are running our own race”.
What Is Still Unknown
- The year: Altman said “not 2026” and named no alternative. Friar’s 2027 remains the only year an OpenAI executive has stated on the record.
- The venue and price: No exchange, share count or price range has been disclosed by the company.
- The financials: OpenAI does not publish audited accounts. The revenue growth figures above are internal numbers relayed to staff, not filed statements.
- What “safety” means for the schedule: Altman tied the delay to safety work but did not say what milestone would clear the way, or who decides that it has been cleared.
- Whether the draft survives: A confidential S-1 can be amended or abandoned without any public announcement.
OpenAI IPO FAQ
Is the OpenAI IPO Happening in 2026?
No. Sam Altman said on 12 September 2026 that a 2026 listing is off, calling it an “ill-advised moment to go public” given safety work. He did not cancel the offering.
When Will OpenAI Go Public?
No date has been set. The only year named by an OpenAI executive is 2027, which chief financial officer Sarah Friar gave to employees on 19 August 2026, with the caveat that it could come sooner.
Has OpenAI Filed for an IPO?
It has filed confidentially. A draft registration statement sits with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission and has not been made public, so its contents are not available to outsiders.
Can Members of the Public Buy OpenAI Shares?
Not on a stock exchange. OpenAI is a private company with no ticker. Its shares change hands only in private secondary transactions, which in the United States are generally restricted to accredited and institutional investors.
Will Anthropic Go Public Before OpenAI?
Fortune reported on 12 September 2026 that Anthropic is targeting a mid-October 2026 listing. Anthropic has not confirmed a date publicly, so the sequence is not settled.
