OpenAI is considering delaying its initial public offering (IPO) until 2027, according to multiple sources citing market volatility and recent tech stock turbulence [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12]. The company confidentially filed IPO paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on June 9, but has not set an official IPO timeline or begun pre-IPO investor meetings [3, 6, 11].
CEO Sam Altman has pushed for a valuation target of about $1 trillion for the IPO, a figure he said remains a non-negotiable benchmark despite the market uncertainty [2, 3, 4, 6, 12]. OpenAI's most recent valuation during an early 2026 funding round was approximately $852 billion, having raised $122 billion in that round [3, 4, 6, 12]. Advisers reportedly outlined two options: delay the IPO until 2027 to aim for the $1 trillion valuation or accept a lower valuation for an earlier public offering [2, 4, 12]. CFO Sarah Friar has expressed concerns about the company's financial position and confirmed there are no firm IPO plans at this time [2, 4, 12].
Recent volatility in tech stocks and the shaky debut of SpaceX's IPO on June 12 have caused OpenAI’s advisers to urge caution about timing. SpaceX priced its IPO at a $1.77 trillion valuation, with up to 30% shares allocated to retail investors, but saw volatile trading in the early days of its public market debut [4, 6, 7]. The dip in SpaceX shares is said to influence OpenAI's decision-making process [2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12]. Kalshi traders estimate a 59% chance OpenAI will announce its IPO by March 1, 2027 [10].
Altman has emphasized that going public is a financing event, but the company is prioritizing delivering technology and business growth over IPO timing. "We have not decided on timing yet; it may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company," OpenAI said in a statement [3, 11].
OpenAI is also preparing to release its GPT-5.6 model in a limited preview pending government approval, available to customers on a case-by-case basis [2, 6]. In a memo to staff, Altman stated, "We have made clear to the US government this is not our preferred long-term pattern. We will work with government and peers to establish more sustainable practices for future model releases" [6].
The delay in OpenAI’s IPO plans has contributed to instability and pessimism in US tech and semiconductor stocks recently [7, 8, 9]. The company’s next major step is still pending, with market watchers anticipating an IPO decision or announcement by early 2027.
