OpenAI May Postpone IPO to 2027: Targeting $1 Trillion Valuation
OpenAI, the leader in the field of AI, is considering the possibility of delaying its initial public offering (IPO) until 2027. Previously, the company planned to go public in the second half of 2026. According to sources cited by The New York Times, this decision is driven by CEO Sam Altman. This is reported by Ixbt.com report says.
Sam Altman holds a firm position that OpenAI should enter the market with a valuation of at least $1 trillion. The company's advisors offered management two paths: either hold an IPO in 2027 with a massive $1 trillion capitalization, or go public sooner but at a lower price. Altman considered the second option "absolutely unacceptable." For reference, OpenAI's latest valuation on the private market was approximately $730 billion.
Market Situation and the SpaceX Experience
The IPO delay is caused not only by ambitions but also by instability in the tech market. Advisors pointed to the situation with Elon Musk's SpaceX as an example. Although SpaceX had a historic IPO and reached a capitalization of $1.77 trillion, its shares later dropped from $202 to $153. This situation is raising doubts among investors regarding the real value of AI and high-tech companies.OpenAI's financial indicators also remain contradictory. In 2025, the company's revenue reached $13 billion, and this figure is expected to triple this year. However, the company is still operating at a loss. The main funds are spent on building computing infrastructure and data processing centers for training ChatGPT models.
User Growth and New Strategy
At the same time, a slight slowdown in the growth of ChatGPT users is being observed. The audience has currently stabilized around 900 million people, while the company aimed to capture the 1 billion mark. Therefore, OpenAI is focusing its primary attention on corporate clients:- Investments in secondary projects such as the Sora video generator have been reduced;
- Development of products for business has been accelerated;
- The Codex tool designed for programming is being actively developed.
SoftBank Share Crash
News of the IPO delay dealt a heavy blow to one of OpenAI's largest investors — Japan's SoftBank Holding. Following these reports, SoftBank shares dropped 13 percent in one day. This is the largest decline for the company since August 2024. By October 2026, SoftBank's total investment in the OpenAI project is expected to reach $65 billion.Analysts believe that an OpenAI IPO would have helped determine the transparent market value of SoftBank's assets. Now, investors are forced to wait several more years. The main question remains: are public investors ready to bet such huge sums on a company that is still losing money but claims a $1 trillion valuation?
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