OpenAI may delay IPO until 2027 over reporting standards
Updated
Updated · The Wall Street Journal · May 2
OpenAI may delay IPO until 2027 over reporting standards
11 articles · Updated · The Wall Street Journal · May 2
CFO Sarah Friar has privately urged more preparation time as the San Francisco company missed some internal revenue and user targets amid pressure from Google and Anthropic.
She has also pushed back on heavy data-centre spending, after earlier investor confusion over commitments that were later described as about $600 billion through 2030 rather than $1.4 trillion.
OpenAI has held informal talks with exchanges and banks, but a slower listing could let Anthropic reach markets first and shape investor appetite for blockbuster AI flotations.
As rivals surge and losses mount, is OpenAI's race to an IPO a brilliant power move or a desperate cash grab?
Could Elon Musk's lawsuit dismantle OpenAI's ambitions before its planned blockbuster IPO even happens?
OpenAI Delays $1 Trillion IPO to 2027 Amid $57 Billion Annual Cash Burn and Rising Competition
Overview
OpenAI announced a delay of its IPO from late 2026 to mid-to-late 2027 due to a mix of internal and external challenges. The company missed key user and revenue targets, faced intense competition from rivals like Anthropic who are growing rapidly and preparing earlier IPOs, and is under pressure from a massive $600 billion spending plan that risks depleting its recent $122 billion funding within three years. Governance tensions between leadership and volatile market conditions further complicated the timing. To recover, OpenAI is tightening financial discipline, expanding its enterprise focus, and preparing for a more sustainable growth path to regain investor confidence before going public.