OpenAI’s confidential SEC filing and internal deliberations have shifted focus toward a 2027 debut, with CEO Sam Altman rejecting any IPO below the $1 trillion target and CFO Sarah Friar explicitly signaling a 2027 timeline unless revenue inflects sharply. Recent market volatility, including SpaceX’s post-IPO share drop, and OpenAI’s heavy compute spending have reinforced advisers’ caution against rushing a listing that could fall short of valuation goals. With the September 2026 window now passed and Anthropic positioned to potentially list first, traders see little realistic path to a qualifying IPO before year-end. Only an unexpected surge in large language model monetization or abrupt regulatory easing could reopen an earlier window, though both remain low-probability catalysts given current financials and market conditions.