US: OpenAI leans toward a 2027 IPO and an employee tender near US$850bn as Altman holds out for US$1tn

Summary

OpenAI is leaning toward delaying its IPO to 2027 rather than listing in late 2026, according to New York Times and Reuters reporting on 25 to 26 June 2026, with CFO Sarah Friar said to eye a 2027 debut. CEO Sam Altman has reportedly called any valuation below US$1tn a "non-starter"; the company's latest round valued it near US$852bn. OpenAI, which filed a confidential draft S-1 earlier in 2026, is working with Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley and JPMorgan and plans an employee tender offer to provide liquidity at the latest valuation. OpenAI has not confirmed timing, size or terms.

The split

US markets coverage treats the delay as a valuation standoff, Altman betting a year buys a trillion-dollar print. European and Indian outlets frame the same reports as a test of whether AI's marquee name can justify the number at all. Every account leans on the same NYT and Reuters sourcing, and each flags that OpenAI has confirmed nothing, so this remains reported intent, not a decision.

By the numbers

• 2027, the reported target for an IPO, slipped from 2026.
• ~US$852bn, OpenAI's latest round valuation.
• US$1tn, the floor Altman reportedly insists on.
• Goldman Sachs, Morgan Stanley, JPMorgan, the mandated banks.
• Reported June 25 to 26, 2026; unconfirmed.

Why it matters

OpenAI's listing would be the defining test of AI-era public-market appetite, and holding out for a trillion-dollar valuation while offering employees a tender is a bet that private liquidity can bridge to a bigger number later. A slip to 2027 would also stretch the timeline for the many funds and employees waiting on the largest paper wealth in the sector.

What to watch

• Any official OpenAI confirmation of timing or an employee tender.
• Whether the latest round's US$852bn holds or resets.
• Knock-on timing for Anthropic and other frontier-lab listings.