Sam Altman says OpenAI going public in 2026 would be ‘ill-advised’ - The Verge

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed there will be no company IPO in 2026, calling the current climate an "ill-advised moment to go public" during a 45-minute interview with Fortune.
Altman said OpenAI feels no pressure to go public and will do so only when ready, adding "not 2026" because the company still has "a lot of stuff to do."
He tied the decision to ongoing safety concerns, framing readiness rather than market timing as the deciding factor.
Asked whether it was possible to build an AI beyond human control, Altman said it "absolutely" was, but pledged to take steps to prevent that outcome.
He said he would be willing to pause training if necessary, stating that "there are risks we should not be able to incur on behalf of humanity."
The wide-ranging conversation also touched on the Hugging Face hacking incident and recursive self-improvement in AI systems.