OpenAI will not proceed with an initial public offering in 2026, Chief Executive Sam Altman said, as the company focuses on growing concerns over artificial intelligence safety and the risks associated with increasingly capable systems. Altman said going public at this stage would be poorly timed given the safety challenges facing the artificial intelligence industry. He added that OpenAI does not currently feel pressure to pursue a public listing and intends to focus on safety and alignment efforts. The OpenAI chief also addressed estimates about the possibility of artificial intelligence causing human extinction. While questioning how a specific percentage could be accurately calculated, Altman said even a relatively small risk would be unacceptable and should prompt companies and governments to take stronger precautions. Altman said financial incentives and corporate interests should not prevent the industry from addressing potential risks. He also indicated that OpenAI and other major artificial intelligence companies could be close to reaching an agreement focused on slowing development and improving safety measures. His comments followed a call from Anthropic Chief Executive Dario Amodei for artificial intelligence companies to take a more deliberate approach to developing increasingly capable models. Altman later said he agreed that the industry needs to pace frontier artificial intelligence development.
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