IPO is not on the cards right now: OpenAI CFO

• Company’s current focus is on scaling operations following a significant corporate overhaul last month.

OpenAI’s Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Friar, tempered expectations for an initial public offering, telling attendees at The Wall Street Journal’s Tech Live conference that an IPO is not in the company’s near-term roadmap.

“IPO is not on the cards right now,” Friar stated. “We are continuing to get the company into a state of constantly stepping up into the scale we are at, so I don’t want to get wrapped around an IPO axle.”

While Friar has privately indicated that OpenAI might pursue a public listing as early as 2026 or 2027, her remarks underscore the company’s current focus on scaling operations following a significant corporate overhaul last month.

Strategic restructuring and Microsoft deal

In late October, OpenAI restructured its for-profit arm as a public benefit corporation, part of a deal with Microsoft that valued the artificial intelligence leader at approximately $500 billion. This transition affords OpenAI additional operational flexibility while maintaining majority control under its nonprofit parent, now known as the OpenAI Foundation.

The Foundation holds a 26 per cent stake and a warrant for additional equity tied to performance milestones, potentially paving the way for future financing and strategic partnerships.

Investment and expansion

OpenAI has aggressively expanded its investment in data centres and infrastructure, recently signing multibillion-dollar agreements with major tech players including Alphabet’s Google and Amazon.

The company is seeking US government support to help back AI chip financing, a move Friar said could reduce debt costs for assets that rapidly depreciate.

“This is where we’re looking for an ecosystem of banks, private equity, maybe even governmental,” Friar explained. “Any such guarantee can really drop the cost of the financing but also increase the loan-to-value.”