Sam Altman rules out OpenAI IPO in 2026, calling it 'ill-advised' amid AI safety concerns

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said going public in 2026 would be 'ill-advised' given AI safety work, even though the company had confidentially filed for an IPO; he also said AI beyond human control is 'absolutely' possible and vowed to pause training if needed to…

In a roughly 45-minute Fortune interview, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the company will not go public in 2026, saying 'right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public' given everything happening with AI safety. According to TechCrunch, OpenAI had confidentially filed for an IPO, and The New York Times previously reported the company hired bankers and lawyers targeting a Q3/Q4 2026 listing but was leaning toward 2027 due to tech stock volatility and financial challenges. Beyond the IPO, Altman said it is 'absolutely' possible to build AI beyond human control but vowed to prevent it, even if that meant pausing training. He also discussed the Hugging Face hacking incident and recursive self-improvement during the interview. Both reports agree on the core facts with no discrepancies; The Verge attributes the remarks to a Fortune interview, while TechCrunch adds the IPO-filing and 2027-timing background from NYT reporting.

• Sam Altman explicitly ruled out an OpenAI IPO in 2026, calling the timing 'ill-advised' due to AI safety considerations
• OpenAI had confidentially filed for an IPO and hired bankers and lawyers, per NYT reporting cited by TechCrunch
• NYT reported OpenAI was targeting a Q3/Q4 2026 listing but leaning toward 2027 due to tech stock volatility and financial challenges
• The remarks came in a roughly 45-minute Fortune interview
• Altman said it is 'absolutely' possible to build AI beyond human control but vowed to prevent it
• Altman said he would pause training if needed to avoid catastrophic risk
• The interview also covered the Hugging Face hacking incident and recursive self-improvement