Sam Altman says OpenAI will not go public in 2026

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed in a 45-minute interview with Fortune that the company will not hold an initial public offering in 2026. He said OpenAI is not rushing into an IPO and that, given everything happening with safety, now would be an ill-advised moment to go public. He added that the company feels no pressure, will list when it is ready and has a lot to do.

The interview also covered the Hugging Face hacking incident, recursive self-improvement and the possibility of building an AI beyond human control. Altman said that was "absolutely" possible and vowed to take steps to prevent it, even if that meant pausing training. He added that there are risks that should not be taken on behalf of humanity.