OpenAI is leaning toward delaying its initial public offering until 2027, The New York Times reported, citing three people involved in the company’s deliberations, with Reuters confirming key details. The shift comes only weeks after OpenAI filed confidentially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission on June 9, having earlier aimed for a debut as soon as late this year. The company is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion, and the reported delay reflects a deliberate choice to wait for that price rather than list sooner at a lower one.
The sticking point is valuation. According to the reports, advisers presented executives with two options: wait until 2027 to let the market settle and the company’s financials grow into a trillion-dollar figure, or accept a lower valuation to list faster in 2026.
CEO Sam Altman reportedly rejected any cut to the trillion-dollar target, calling it a “non-starter.” That is a steep climb from OpenAI’s last private valuation, reported between $730 billion and $852 billion. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has told some associates the company is eyeing a 2027 listing. The news rippled out quickly: shares of SoftBank, one of OpenAI’s largest backers and set to hold a large stake by October, fell as much as 13% on Friday, their sharpest single-day drop in more than three months.
Advisers’ caution has been sharpened by SpaceX. Elon Musk’s company pulled off the largest IPO on record this month, raising more than $85 billion and reaching about a $1.77 trillion valuation on its first trading day. Since then the stock has slid from a peak near $202 last week to about $153, a reminder that even a blockbuster debut can reverse fast. Bankers reportedly warned Altman that retail enthusiasm for giant tech listings is cooling, making a trillion-dollar AI offering risky in the current climate.
Why It Matters
The delay underscores an unusual truth about OpenAI: it has the leverage to wait. Most companies go public because they need capital, but OpenAI has raised enormous sums privately, so timing is a choice rather than a necessity. Waiting lets it try to grow into its valuation and clean up its finances, and the financials explain the pressure.
OpenAI reported a roughly $38.5 billion net loss for last year on about $13 billion in revenue, which it wants to triple, while committing vast sums to computing infrastructure. Altman’s bet is that by 2027 the company’s revenue, enterprise traction and strategic importance will make a trillion-dollar price look obvious rather than aspirational.
The IPO Question
A 2027 timeline would reshape one of the most watched contests in technology finance. SpaceX’s debut had been seen as a green light for a wave of trillion-dollar listings, with OpenAI and rival Anthropic expected to follow. If OpenAI steps back, Anthropic could reach the public markets first and set the template for how investors value a frontier AI lab.
The delay also lands amid heavier government involvement in OpenAI’s business; the Trump administration has asked it to stagger the release of its new GPT-5.6 model, with access approved customer by customer during a preview. Staying private longer would let OpenAI work through both market jitters and regulatory pressure away from the quarterly scrutiny of Wall Street, though it also prolongs the wait for investors hungry for exposure to the AI boom.
