OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has told employees that the company’s IPO is postponed to 2027, calling the previously filed prospectus a maneuver to preserve tactical flexibility. Employees were offered a share buyback at $687.69 per share as an alternative liquidity option. Altman cited progress in self-learning AI development as the reason for the delay, arguing the company is safer remaining private during a period of unpredictable technological change. An additional factor is Anthropic’s upcoming stock listing, which shows stronger growth metrics while OpenAI continues burning capital. The company plans to release a new model internally indexed as 5.6 in June, seen as a significant step forward from GPT-5.5.

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