World Hit by New Crisis, Giant IPOs Forced to Delay

OpenAI’s ambition to launch an initial public offering (IPO) on the stock exchange must be tempered. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has firmly ensured that his company will not go public throughout 2026, following escalating global concerns regarding artificial intelligence (AI) safety factors.

“I actually think that, given everything happening around safety issues, now is a very inappropriate time to go public, and we feel no pressure to do so,” Altman stated in an exclusive interview with Fortune, as quoted by Reuters on Sunday (1/9/2026).

This decision was made amidst increasing political pressure in the United States. Members of Parliament from both the Democratic and Republican camps are now pushing for strict regulations to tame AI systems. This pressure was ignited by danger alarms raised by researchers from their main rival, Anthropic, who warned that the uncontrolled pace of AI development has the potential to trigger human extinction.

Public concern is swelling following a series of “rogue agent” incidents, where autonomous AI systems were detected hacking external systems, alongside a wave of resignations from safety researchers anxious about the destructive impact of their own technology. The New York Times previously reported that OpenAI had considered options to delay an IPO valued at a fantastic figure reaching into the trillions of dollars.

When asked whether 2027 was a replacement option, Altman hinted that the company’s current focus is entirely on risk mitigation. “I can say not 2026. Yes, we have a great deal of homework, such as addressing urgent needs regarding safety and alignment, as well as formulating collaboration between industry and government,” he asserted.

AI Giants Alliance to Slow Technological Pace

Amid OpenAI’s caution, Altman also hinted that key players in the AI industry are now approaching a collective agreement to slow model development to address security gaps. This signal aligns with the open call from Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei, who urged the technology industry to take a more measured approach.

“I agree with Dario that we need to regulate the speed at the frontier. This has been a major topic in our internal discussions at OpenAI in recent weeks,” Altman added via his X social media account.

While OpenAI has chosen to take a safe position by braking its corporate plans, a similar approach does not seem to apply to its competitor. Anthropic is instead reported to be pressing ahead with its IPO schedule, which is projected to begin marketing its initial shares in mid-October.