OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has said the company will not pursue an initial public offering in 2026, describing such a move as "ill-advised" given ongoing safety concerns. Speaking in a 45-minute interview with Fortune, he said OpenAI is under no pressure to go public and would only do so when ready, marking a rare moment of caution from a company usually associated with rapid expansion.

Altman also addressed broader safety questions, including the recent Hugging Face hacking incident and the risk of recursive self-improvement leading to AI systems beyond human control. He acknowledged this was "absolutely" possible but said he would take steps to prevent it, including pausing training if necessary, arguing that "there are risks we should not be able to incur on behalf of humanity."