OpenAI CEO Sam Altman ruled out a 2026 IPO in September statements, citing the need to prioritize AI safety and alignment amid rapidly advancing large language model capabilities before considering public markets. The company is instead pursuing a bridge financing round targeting at least $30 billion at roughly $1.4 trillion valuation—up from its March $852 billion post-money round—to extend runway ahead of an expected 2027 listing. Annualized revenue approaching $70 billion and strong enterprise growth support this path, while delays in models like GPT-6.1 Astra reflect ongoing safety reviews. Rival Anthropic has similarly postponed plans, underscoring industry-wide caution around regulatory scrutiny and capability risks that could still shift timelines.