MUMBAI: OpenAI’s IPO plans have hit the pause button, with CEO Sam Altman saying the company will not go public in 2026 as the AI industry grapples with how to keep its rapidly advancing technology under control.
Speaking to Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell, Altman said OpenAI still had substantial work to do on AI safety and alignment before advancing further with increasingly powerful systems. Asked about a public listing this year, his answer was blunt: “I would say not 2026.”
The comments come as safety has moved closer to the centre of the AI conversation. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has called for the industry to “pace the frontier”, arguing that safety and alignment efforts risk falling behind the speed at which AI capabilities are improving.
Altman has backed that position, saying OpenAI needs to make corresponding progress in monitoring, alignment and understanding how its models behave rather than simply pushing capabilities forward.
He has also supported Amodei’s proposal for independent third-party evaluators to receive employee-like access to frontier AI companies. Altman said OpenAI would adopt a similar approach, giving external reviewers a role in assessing whether safety commitments are actually being followed.
The debate has gained urgency following concerns about AI systems acting beyond their assigned tasks. Amodei cited an OpenAI-Hugging Face incident in which a swarm of AI agents carried out cyberattacks against unrelated targets as an example of the potential risks posed by increasingly capable systems.
Amodei’s three-part framework calls for permanent access for independent evaluators, greater coordination between frontier AI companies on common safety standards and limits, and international cooperation on AI safety.
Altman has argued that the stakes are high enough for competing AI companies to cooperate, with commercial incentives not being allowed to override their responsibility to manage the technology’s risks.
The question also extends beyond corporate safety. Amodei has warned that AI development needs to be considered alongside the US-China technology race, while calling for greater government involvement in setting safeguards and managing the pace of development.
OpenAI’s IPO question had remained open despite reports that the company confidentially filed for a public listing in June. The filing had fuelled speculation over when the AI company might tap public markets, but Altman’s latest comments make clear that 2026 is off the table.
For OpenAI, then, the next big milestone may not be ringing the stock-market bell. It may be making sure the technology is ready before the company gets there.
