OpenAI is considering delaying its initial public offering (IPO) from fall 2026 to 2027 due to ongoing volatility in technology stocks and market concerns around AI investments [1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7]. Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs are serving as the lead banks advising the company on the potential offering [1, 3, 6].

SoftBank Group, which holds about an 11% stake in OpenAI and plans to invest up to $65 billion by October 2026, saw its shares fall sharply between 11% to 13% on June 26, 2026, following news of the possible IPO delay [8, 3, 9, 10, 4, 11, 12, 6, 7]. The drop was influenced by broader weakness in tech stocks with the Nasdaq 100 and Japan’s Nikkei index also down amid investor jitters over AI sector performance [1, 2, 9, 10, 12, 7]. Asian AI and tech-related stocks including Advantest, Tokyo Electron, Kioxia, SK Hynix, and Samsung Electronics also declined in sympathy [12, 7].

The IPO had been expected to provide more transparency to SoftBank's large, mainly private portfolio, potentially reducing the conglomerate discount on its shares. Hiroki Takei, strategist at Resona Holdings, said, "If OpenAI were to go public, that would make it easier for investors to value SoftBank’s overall portfolio, and the transparency could reduce the heavy conglomerate discount, or risk premium, applied to SoftBank shares. News of an IPO delay naturally dampens those expectations" [3].

OpenAI submitted IPO paperwork to the US Securities and Exchange Commission in June 2026, initially targeting a fall listing possibly valuing the company near $1 trillion [3, 4, 6]. The company cited market volatility and waning enthusiasm in technology and AI investments as factors driving the potential postponement [1, 3, 4, 6].

SoftBank has faced pressures in raising funds using its OpenAI stake as collateral, including a reduced loan size in recent financing discussions [4, 6]. Shuutarou Yasuda, market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory, said the IPO delay news was negative for SoftBank and broader investors since "AI is the centre of the market and the market wondered if there was anything negative in the industry outlook" [7].

OpenAI and its advisors are expected to finalize any IPO timing shifts following further evaluation of market conditions.