Sam Altman, the Chief Executive Officer of OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, recently shared his views on the prospect of leading a public company. During an interview on the ‘Big Technology Podcast’ with host Alex Kantrowitz, Altman expressed a distinct lack of enthusiasm for the role, stating he is “0% excited” to be the CEO of a public entity, describing it as potentially “annoying” in some aspects.

The discussion around OpenAI’s potential public listing gained prominence amidst numerous reports from the Wall Street Journal and Reuters, which indicated the artificial intelligence (AI) technology company might be moving towards an Initial Public Offering (IPO) in late 2026 or early 2027. These reports speculated a valuation for OpenAI could reach up to $1 trillion. However, Altman neither confirmed the IPO timeline for 2026 nor substantiated reports from The Information about the company being in talks for “tens of billions of dollars” from investors at a $750 billion valuation. Fortune also reported that OpenAI did not comment on these queries.

Despite his personal reservations about being a public company CEO, Altman acknowledged the benefits of public markets, noting that it is “cool” how they enable broader participation in value creation. He highlighted that OpenAI is a capital-intensive company, requiring substantial capital to maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. Altman also mentioned that OpenAI would be considered “very late” to go public compared to previous companies, emphasizing the advantages of its current private status while recognizing the eventual need to cross shareholder limits.

OpenAI recently underwent a significant restructuring, transitioning from a non-profit to a for-profit entity. This shift resulted in the non-profit organization that controls the company holding a substantial $130 billion stake, while Microsoft’s stake was reduced to 27%. This restructuring also grants OpenAI the flexibility to collaborate with cloud computing platforms beyond the Windows maker.

Addressing the internal ‘Code Red’ strategy implemented by OpenAI in response to increasing competition, Sam Altman explained that such measures are a continuous process. He emphasized the importance of being “paranoid” and acting swiftly when potential competitive threats emerge, referencing a past ‘Code Red’ triggered by DeepSeek earlier in the year. Altman anticipates these initiatives will occur “once, maybe twice a year, for a long time,” as a crucial part of securing OpenAI’s leading position in the industry. He also expressed contentment for other companies succeeding. Similarly, OpenAI’s Chief Research Officer, Mark Chen, told Bloomberg that ‘Code Red’ is often called to focus efforts on specific topics.