OpenAI will not go public until AI is safe

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced that the company has not yet set a definitive timeline for going public. According to Altman, OpenAI will not become public until it is certain about the safety of its artificial intelligence models. The company plans to prioritize security and compliance as the capabilities of its models rapidly develop. Altman mentioned that being a public company could exert additional pressure on OpenAI in the current period.

He expressed concern about a potential tension between the expectations of Wall Street investors and security priorities, stating that delays in achieving commercial objectives for security reasons could disappoint investors. Altman previously indicated that OpenAI would not go public in 2026 but believes that a prolonged delay could have negative global implications.

Meanwhile, OpenAI's competitor Anthropic filed for an IPO in June, with expectations to go public in November after the U.S. midterm elections. SpaceX, which includes Elon Musk's xAI, completed the largest IPO in history in June.