OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed that the company will not proceed with an IPO in 2026, according to The Guardian. Speaking with Fortune, Altman said, ‘I would say not 2026. Yeah, we got a lot of stuff to do, like meeting this moment of what is going to be required for safety and alignment, and how the industry and governments can work together.’ The decision comes amid growing concerns over AI safety, including cases of AI agents acting unpredictably and researchers leaving their jobs over ethical concerns.

Industry-Wide Safety Concerns

Altman emphasized that OpenAI is prioritizing safety over speed. He added that the company and other leading AI firms are close to announcing a joint agreement to slow AI development and address shared risks. According to El Ecosistema Startup, Altman stated that ‘now would be an imprudent time to go public’ due to the current state of AI safety. He also acknowledged that ‘it’s absolutely possible’ to create AI that could act outside human control, adding that ‘there are risks we should not be able to take in the name of humanity.’

Dario Amodei, CEO of Anthropic, echoed this sentiment, urging AI companies to take a ‘more deliberate’ approach to development. ‘We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models,’ Amodei wrote in an essay shared on social media. Altman responded on X, agreeing with the call for a more measured approach: ‘I agree with Dario that we need to pace the frontier,’ he said. ‘This has been a primary topic of discussions we’ve had at OpenAI in recent weeks.’

Regulatory Pressure and AI Rollout

OpenAI’s decision to delay its IPO aligns with broader regulatory and security concerns. According to Mathrubhumi English, the U.S. government has reportedly requested that OpenAI limit the public rollout of its upcoming GPT-5.6 model to a select group of partners under government oversight. The model is expected to be made available only through a limited preview before being expanded to the public. The Office of the National Cyber Director and the Office of Science and Technology Policy were among those who reportedly requested the phased rollout. CEO Sam Altman informed employees that the company will begin with this limited preview before expanding access.

While OpenAI had initially planned to launch GPT-5.6 in the coming weeks, reports suggest the company is considering delaying the full release until next year. The identities of the initial partners receiving access have not been disclosed, and it remains unclear how the U.S. government will approve future users during the preview period.

Strategic Delay of IPO

The IPO delay is being framed as a strategic decision rather than a sign of weakness. OpenAI confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO earlier this month with a valuation target of up to $1 trillion, according to Mathrubhumi English. However, advisers have reportedly suggested delaying the listing until 2027 to better support the valuation. Altman has reportedly opposed lowering the company’s valuation target, despite the possibility that an earlier listing might require a smaller valuation.

Anthropic, another major AI company, has also faced similar regulatory scrutiny. The reported restrictions on Anthropic highlight a broader shift in U.S. policy toward AI development. OpenAI and other firms may need to manage a more cautious regulatory environment as they seek to scale their offerings while ensuring public safety.