--- title: "OpenAI May Wait Until 2027 to Go Public, Reports Say" description: "OpenAI is leaning toward delaying its stock-market debut to 2027, rather than late this year, as CEO Sam Altman pushes for a path to a $1 trillion valuation, according to the New York Times — a sign of how much weight rides on what would be a landmark listing for the AI industry." category: "Markets" category_url: https://boursel.com/category/markets author: "Hannah Blackwood" published: 2026-06-27T20:43:00.000Z updated: 2026-06-27T20:43:00.000Z canonical: https://boursel.com/article/openai-may-wait-until-2027-to-go-public-reports-say tags: ["openai", "ipo", "ai", "microsoft", "sam-altman", "markets"] --- # OpenAI May Wait Until 2027 to Go Public, Reports Say OpenAI is leaning toward delaying its stock-market debut to 2027, rather than late this year, as CEO Sam Altman pushes for a path to a $1 trillion valuation, according to the New York Times — a sign of how much weight rides on what would be a landmark listing for the AI industry. OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT, is now leaning toward waiting until 2027 to go public, rather than listing as soon as late this year, [the New York Times reported](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/microsoft-msft-backed-openai-may-193218688.html) — citing three people involved in the company's deliberations. The company had earlier lined up bankers and lawyers for an offering aimed at the third or fourth quarter of 2026. ## What an IPO is, and why this one matters An **initial public offering (IPO)** is the first time a private company sells shares to the general public on a stock exchange. It lets early investors and employees cash out some of their stake and gives the company access to a much larger pool of capital — in exchange for the scrutiny of quarterly earnings and public disclosure. For OpenAI, a listing would be a milestone for the entire AI industry: the most prominent name in artificial intelligence moving from a private company backed by a few large investors into one owned by public shareholders. That is exactly why the timing is fraught. ## Why wait Two pressures appear to be behind the rethink. The first is the size of the prize. CEO **Sam Altman** has pushed advisers to chart a path to a **$1 trillion valuation** at the debut, according to the Times. Holding off into 2027 would give OpenAI more time to grow its revenue and earnings toward a number that would justify a price near that level. The second is the market mood. Bankers have reportedly cautioned that investor appetite may be cooler than it looks. SpaceX's blockbuster listing earlier this year initially suggested strong demand for giant technology offerings, but its shares later fell back from their highs — a reminder that even marquee names can wobble once they trade. ## The structure question OpenAI's path to a normal IPO required a corporate overhaul. It began in 2015 as a nonprofit research lab, then created a capped-profit commercial arm to raise the enormous sums needed to build advanced AI. In late 2025 it restructured that arm into a **public benefit corporation** — a for-profit form whose directors must weigh public goals alongside shareholder returns, with the original nonprofit retaining a large equity stake. That reorganization was widely seen as a prerequisite for going public, since stock-market investors expect conventional governance. OpenAI confirmed it had taken an early procedural step toward a listing, [submitting a confidential draft registration statement](https://openai.com/index/openai-submits-confidential-s-1/) to the Securities and Exchange Commission — a filing that lets a company begin the review process before its financials become public. It does not lock in any timeline. ## The money behind the machine Whenever it lists, OpenAI will go to market as a company growing fast but spending furiously. Its revenue has climbed steeply as ChatGPT's business and developer products have scaled, but it remains deeply unprofitable: training and running cutting-edge AI models requires vast banks of specialized chips running around the clock, an expense that runs into the tens of billions of dollars a year. **Microsoft**, OpenAI's largest backer, has invested well over $10 billion and holds a major stake, and much of OpenAI's computing runs on Microsoft's cloud. That tension — soaring revenue against enormous costs, and sky-high private valuations against unproven profitability — is the same one hanging over the whole AI boom. A delay to 2027 would buy OpenAI time to show the numbers can grow into the valuation Altman wants. It is the company's call, and, as ever with a private firm, the plans could change again before any shares trade. ## Sources - [Microsoft-backed OpenAI may wait until 2027 for IPO](https://finance.yahoo.com/technology/ai/articles/microsoft-msft-backed-openai-may-193218688.html) - [OpenAI submits confidential draft S-1 to the SEC](https://openai.com/index/openai-submits-confidential-s-1/)