OpenAI's Sam Altman rules out IPO this year, calls AI extinction risk 'unacceptable'
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has ruled out a public stock market debut this year, pointing to mounting safety challenges and warning that AI-driven human extinction is completely intolerable
OpenAI will not go public in 2026, said CEO Sam Altman citing safety concerns over artificial intelligence (AI) that render "unacceptable" even a 10% risk that AI could cause human extinction by decade's end.
Recently, Sam Altman has officially ruled out an initial public offering (IPO) for the company, stating that a market listing right now would be "ill-advised" given the heavy safety concerns surrounding artificial intelligence.
The comments come as more U.S. lawmakers urge new rules to govern AI systems after dire warnings from two researchers from OpenAI rival Anthropic that rapidly progressing AI could lead to the extinction of the human race in the not-too-distant future.
While Wall Street had previously modeled a potential trillion-dollar listing, Altman confirmed that an IPO will not happen this year, emphasizing that the company is prioritizing safety and alignment work over market pressures.
When addressing potential existential threats, Altman noted that even single-digit percentage risks of AI causing human extinction by the end of the decade are completely intolerable.
As reported, Altman stressed that tech companies and governments must act with extreme responsibility rather than letting profit incentives or ego get in the way.
Altman's comments align with a broader industry conversation about slowing down the aggressive scaling of AI capabilities.
He recently expressed agreement with Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei on the necessity of pacing frontier development to properly manage safety protocols.
"I actually think that, given everything happening with safety, right now would be an ill-advised moment to go public, and we don't feel pressure on that," Altman told business magazine Fortune.
Asked if there was a 10% chance of AI-driven extinction, Altman said he did not know how such an estimate could be made, but warned the risk was serious enough that AI companies and governments should act as though it could not be tolerated.
"Whether it's 10 or eight or six, the point is, we all have a tremendous amount of responsibility, and cannot let egos or incentives for profit or anything else get in the way," Altman added.
