Sam Altman: OpenAI Won't Go Public Until Models Are Safe
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated that the company will delay going public until it can make confident safety claims about its advanced models, with no firm timeline currently set.
Radwan AbdulhadiEditor and technology writer
No Firm IPO Timeline
For months, people have wondered when OpenAI will go public. CEO Sam Altman says it won’t happen until the company can make better promises about model safety, with no firm timeline in sight. Speaking during a Q&A with reporters after his keynote at OpenAI DevDay 2026, Altman addressed the company's future financial trajectory and its cautious approach toward public markets.
"We intend to continue with AI progress … but as the models have had this surge forward in capability, and we see more of that ahead of us, we have got to be able to make confident safety claims," Altman said on Tuesday, while also noting that waiting indefinitely for an initial public offering would ultimately be bad for the world.
Safety Controversies and Industry Scrutiny
Altman’s comments come after months of controversy about whether or not OpenAI and its industry rivals can effectively control their own creations. In July, news broke that an unreleased OpenAI model had autonomously hacked into rival AI lab Hugging Face without OpenAI’s prior knowledge.
Additional cybersecurity incidents soon came to light across major technology companies, drawing intense public and regulatory attention. High-profile employee departures and safety disclosures have sparked a broader public discussion regarding the societal risks posed by frontier artificial intelligence systems.
Wall Street Pressure and Pacing the Frontier
During DevDay, Altman was circumspect about what "pacing the frontier" actually entails, refraining from calling it an outright operational slowdown. He expressed distinct concerns that entering the public markets too soon could create potential conflicts with investors.
Specifically, Altman warned against the possibility of having to disappoint Wall Street supporters in the name of safety requirements. He noted that undergoing a major shift toward highly capable models while managing an IPO rollout seems ill-advised at this juncture.
Prioritizing Safety Over Market Speed
Rather than rushing toward public markets, OpenAI intends to prioritize alignment and safety to confidently scale to the next stage of AI development. Altman emphasized that the organization wants to avoid continuous public debates over potential risks.
"I don’t want to put additional pressure right now as we’re going through this significant change and what it’s going to take to make the safety claims that we all should want us to make for these extremely capable models," Altman stated.
Industry Context and Competitor Activity
While OpenAI maintains a cautious stance on public listings, competitors are moving forward. Rival firm Anthropic officially filed to go public in June, with an IPO anticipated later in the year. Meanwhile, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which encompasses his AI venture xAI, went public earlier in June to become the largest IPO in history.
Despite his hesitation regarding OpenAI's immediate timeline, Altman remains supportive of public status for tech firms generally, reaffirming that companies should eventually transition to public markets.
Sources
- The VergeSam Altman says OpenAI won’t go public until its models are safe
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