OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar has stated that the artificial intelligence startup is not considering an initial public offering in the near future, a move that denied earlier reports by the media that the company could enter the market as soon as the second half of 2026.
Speaking on Wednesday at the Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference, Friar said that IPO is not on the cards right now. “We are continuing to get the company into a state of constantly stepping up into the scale we are at, so I don’t want to get wrapped around an IPO axle,” said the CFO.
This statement comes shortly after media reports suggested that OpenAI was preparing for a stock market debut that could value the firm as high as $1 trillion.
The clarification from OpenAI’s leadership follows a significant organizational restructuring in late October. As part of a broader deal with Microsoft that valued the company at about $500 billion, OpenAI shifted its for-profit operations into a public benefit corporation. The restructuring offers the company increased flexibility while maintaining control under its nonprofit parent, now known as the OpenAI Foundation. The Foundation holds a 26% stake in the company and retains a warrant for additional shares, contingent on OpenAI meeting specified milestones, further enabling the firm to explore new partnerships and sources of capital.
OpenAI has ramped up investments in data infrastructure, sealing multi-billion-dollar partnerships with major tech firms including Alphabet’s Google and Amazon. Friar highlighted ongoing efforts to secure financial backing from the U.S. government to help reduce the cost and risk of financing AI chips, which pose unique challenges due to uncertain depreciation rates, making traditional debt financing more costly.
