OpenAI CEO Sam Altman decided to make a rather important statement at the end of the week regarding the fate of the new company, officially confirming for the first time that there will not be an IPO this year. He said that there is no need to rush to enter the stock exchange, and the current conditions are not the most favorable, which is determined by tensions over the safety of artificial intelligence.
Image source: Unsplash, Sollen Feyissa
Altman shared his thoughts on the matter in an interview with the publication wealth: “I actually think with everything going on in terms of safety, it’s not the right time to go public, and we don’t feel any pressure to do that.”. The company plans to conduct its initial public offering when society and businesses are ready. Altman said that there will definitely not be an IPO in 2026, and there is still a lot of work to be done in terms of preparation for security standards, including the level of contact between industry and government.
The artificial intelligence industry has had to contend with a series of cybersecurity incidents in recent weeks, with growing revelations that artificial intelligence agents are interfering with the infrastructure of third-party websites as startups conduct experiments. Developers of advanced AI models have begun discussing the need to slow down improvements and tighten safety measures. Anthropic even offers to make its AI models available to outside experts so that they can independently influence its development. Altman recommended that industry representatives come together to develop a common plan to address safety issues.
In an interview with Fortune magazine, Altman admitted that he was actually glad to see the need to delay the company’s IPO because society must address the safety of artificial intelligence models at every level of their capabilities. OpenAI is willing to pause development of new models to allow sufficient time to resolve such issues. Ideally, he said, not only all representatives of the AI industry but also governments from different countries should join the process. This is where the unusual corporate structure that divides power between the for-profit and nonprofit sides must pay off, as OpenAI must make decisions that won’t benefit the startup’s business or shareholders, but will ultimately serve OpenAI’s mission.
If you find an error, select it with your mouse and press CTRL+ENTER.
