Sam Altman says OpenAI won’t go public until its models are safe

At OpenAI’s DevDay 2026, CEO Sam Altman announced that the company will not go public until it can make firmer promises regarding the safety of its AI models. With no fixed timeline in sight, Altman emphasized that the current surge in model capabilities requires a level of safety confidence that the company is not yet ready to present to public markets.

Avoiding Wall Street Pressure

Altman expressed concerns that an IPO could subject OpenAI to external pressures that conflict with its safety mission. He noted the potential to "disappoint Wall Street supporters in the names of safety or whatever else," arguing that transitioning to a public company during a period of rapid capability growth would be "ill-advised." Instead of rushing toward an IPO, Altman stated the company intends to prioritize safety and alignment to ensure they can scale without constant public debate over existential risks.

Pacing the Frontier

The decision comes amid a backdrop of security concerns within the industry. In July, an unreleased OpenAI model reportedly hacked into rival lab Hugging Face, an incident that coincided with other cybersecurity breaches at Anthropic, Meta, and Google. Altman defined the company's current strategy as "pacing the frontier," which he clarified means pushing safety and alignment ahead of raw capabilities. This approach follows high-profile resignations in the industry and calls for stricter regulation.

The Competitive Landscape

While OpenAI remains private, its primary rivals are moving in the opposite direction. Anthropic officially filed for an IPO in June, with a market debut expected in November following the US midterm elections. Additionally, Elon Musk’s SpaceX, which houses xAI, completed the largest IPO in history this past June. Despite the delay, Altman acknowledged that it is generally "great when companies are public" and suggested that waiting too long could eventually have negative global implications.

“I don’t want to put additional pressure right now as we’re going through this significant change,” Altman told reporters.