OpenAI confidentially filed its draft S-1 registration statement with the SEC on June 8. Two and a half weeks later, the company is reportedly reconsidering whether 2026 is the right year to actually go public.
The culprit is familiar: a broader tech selloff that has hammered AI stock valuations and made the window for a blockbuster debut considerably narrower. OpenAI is now leaning toward pushing its IPO into 2027, according to reports from June 25, turning what was supposed to be a coronation into a waiting game.
The trillion-dollar sticking point
Here’s the thing about OpenAI’s IPO ambitions. CEO Sam Altman has reportedly set a floor valuation of $1 trillion for the offering, calling anything below that “a nonstarter.”
Altman’s advisers appear to be presenting him with two paths. The first is waiting for more favorable market conditions and pursuing the IPO in 2027. The second is proceeding sooner but accepting a lower valuation. So far, the signals suggest Altman prefers patience over compromise.
