Sam Altman offers no clarity on OpenAI IPO, says he’s “0% excited” to lead a public company

Sam Altman, CEO of ChatGPT-maker OpenAI, stopped short of confirming reports around a potential fundraise or future listing during a recent podcast appearance, but shared candid views on the idea of leading a public company, he is “0% excited” to be the CEO of a public company.

Speaking to host Alex Kantrowitz on the Big Technology Podcast, Altman was asked how he would feel about OpenAI going public. “Am I excited to be a public company CEO? 0%. Am I excited for OpenAI to be a public company? In some ways, I am, and in some ways, I think it’d be really annoying,” he said.

The discussion followed reports by The Wall Street Journal and Reuters suggesting that OpenAI is working towards an IPO in late 2026 or early 2027, a move that could value the artificial intelligence company at up to $1 trillion.

Responding to questions around a potential public listing, Altman told Kantrowitz that he did not know whether the ChatGPT maker would pursue an IPO in 2026. He also declined to confirm reports by The Information that OpenAI is in talks to raise “tens of billions of dollars” from investors at a valuation of around $750 billion.

Altman, however, noted that it is “cool” that public markets are able to participate in value creation, while also underlining that OpenAI is a capital-intensive business that needs “lots” of funding to stay competitive in the AI race.

Elaborating on this, he said, “I do think it’s cool that public markets get to participate in value creation. And in some sense, we will be very late to go public if you look at any previous company. It’s wonderful to be a private company. We need lots of capital. We’re going to cross all of the shareholder limits and stuff at some point.”