OpenAI's Altman won't do IPO this year, calls AI extinction risk 'unacceptable'

According to Business Recorder, OpenAI will not go public in 2026, chief executive Sam Altman told Fortune in remarks published on Saturday, citing safety concerns around artificial intelligence. Altman said a 10 per cent chance of AI-driven human extinction by the end of the decade was intolerable, though he added that he did not know how such a figure could be calculated.

The remarks come as lawmakers from both major US parties press for new AI rules, following reports of AI agents going rogue and safety researchers leaving their companies. The New York Times had earlier reported that OpenAI was weighing whether to delay a potentially trillion-dollar listing until next year. Fortune also reported that Altman suggested leading AI firms may be close to a pact to slow development and address safety risks.

Anthropic chief executive Dario Amodei called on AI companies to slow the pace of capability improvements, and Altman said he agreed with that view. Citing people familiar with the matter, Reuters reported that Anthropic's IPO marketing could start in mid-October at the earliest, with the listing completed days before the November US midterm elections.