'Not on the agenda': OpenAI says it is not yet preparing for an IPO

Floating OpenAI stock on an exchange is "not on the agenda" in the near term, the company's CFO Sarah Fryer said at the WSJ Tech Live conference. She said the ChatGPT developer's transition to a new corporate structure doesn't mean an IPO is imminent - the company is now more focused on growth and research rather than profitability.

"An IPO is not on the agenda right now," Fryer said. - "We continue to prepare the company to operate on an ever-larger scale, so we don't want to get carried away by the idea of an IPO per se.

In October, OpenAI announced the completion of a restructuring that reduced its dependence on Microsoft. As a result of this process, a for-profit organization called OpenAI Group PBC (Public Benefit Corporation) was created with a total value of $500 billion. Microsoft received about 27% of the shares of the for-profit organization, and a slightly smaller share - 26% - went to OpenAI Foundation, a non-profit structure of OpenAI, which will control the for-profit organization through its board of directors. The remaining shares were distributed among other investors and former and current employees of the company.

The completion of OpenAI's restructuring creates conditions for an IPO, which could take place as early as 2027, The Wall Street Journal wrote, citing sources. Later, Reuters sources said that the placement could take place even in late 2026. According to Reuters' sources, OpenAI is considering raising at least $60 billion at a company valuation of $1 trillion.

This article was AI-translated and verified by a human editor