OpenAI may delay going public until next year due to concerns that it will currently be unable to reach CEO Sam Altman’s target of a $1 trillion valuation, according to reports.
The highly-anticipated initial public offering (IPO) was expected to take place this year after the AI startup confidentially filed preliminary paperwork with the US Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this month.
Mr Altman has described an IPO as the “most likely path” for the ChatGPT creator, as it will bring in much-needed capital to advance its artificial intelligence technology.
Following the SEC filing, OpenAI said in a written statement that it had not decided on timing for the IPO.
“It may be a while because there are things we want to do that are likely easier as a private company,” the statement read.
“But it’s a complicated set of tradeoffs and this gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best.”
It was initially reported that OpenAI was in talks with Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley to list in autumn.
OpenAI is now considering waiting until 2027, the New York Times reported, due to concerns about the performance of SpaceX’s recent IPO.
The space firm initially saw its stock shoot up, making Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, before tumbling by more than 20 per cent from its peak.
This has created doubts among retail investors about the volatility of tech stocks, meaning OpenAI may not reach Mr Altman’s ambition of a trillion-dollar valuation.
OpenAI declined to comment on the potential delay to the IPO.
OpenAI rival Anthropic has also filed to go public, reflecting the booming investor demand for AI firms, though the company said the IPO will “depend on market conditions and other factors”.
The Claude creator recently raised $65 billion in private funding to push its valuation to $965 billion, putting it on a similar level to OpenAI
