OpenAI is leaning toward pushing its long-anticipated stock market debut into 2027, according to people familiar with the discussions, a delay that has already knocked billions off the market value of one of its largest backers.
The ChatGPT maker filed confidentially for an initial public offering in May, and for much of the summer a listing as early as the fourth quarter of 2026 looked plausible, with bankers discussing a valuation range stretching past $1 trillion. But OpenAI has not yet scheduled investor meetings or set a firm timeline, and the company's own advisers have reportedly presented chief executive Sam Altman with a choice: accept a lower valuation and list sooner, or hold out for $1 trillion and wait.
A trillion-dollar standoff
Altman has pushed for the more aggressive, higher-valuation path, while chief financial officer Sarah Friar has urged more caution, pointing to compliance and operational work the company has not finished. The disagreement matters because of how fast OpenAI's private valuation has already moved: a funding round last March raised $122 billion at an $852 billion post-money valuation, up sharply from roughly $500 billion in employee tender offers and secondary sales in late 2025. Altman has told advisers he does not want to price a public offering below that $1 trillion threshold.
Money is not the only reason for haste. OpenAI is burning through cash to fund an estimated $600 billion in hardware and data-center commitments through 2030, even as its monthly revenue has grown to roughly $2 billion, with enterprise customers now making up more than 40% of the business, according to reporting on the company's internal deliberations. A later listing means leaning harder on private capital and debt in the meantime to keep that build-out funded.
SoftBank feels the delay first
The market's verdict on the possible delay has already landed. Shares of SoftBank Group, OpenAI's largest outside investor through the March round and earlier stakes, fell as much as 12% after reports of the slower timeline emerged, erasing gains built up on expectations of an imminent IPO payday. For employees and early investors hoping for a liquidity event, a 2027 listing means another year or more stuck relying on the private secondary market to cash out any shares.
Advisers have also pointed to a cautionary tale close to home: SpaceX's debut earlier this year drew heavy demand but then fell roughly 30% within two weeks of trading, a reminder that even marquee names can struggle once public investors get a vote. With rival Anthropic also sitting on a confidential IPO filing, OpenAI risks ceding the distinction of the AI industry's first blockbuster listing if it waits — a tradeoff Altman appears willing to make rather than compromise on price.