Sam Altman signaled OpenAI will not rush its stock market debut, leaning toward pushing its initial public offering into next year and calling an earlier listing ill-advised in a Fortune interview, citing unfinished safety and alignment work and collaboration between industry and governments. He said OpenAI will go public once the business and company are ready for the moment society is in with AI, and the company has discussed pausing at new capability thresholds to allow further safety work. OpenAI originally hired bankers and lawyers to prepare a listing in the months ahead, and Altman has pressed advisers for a path to a valuation of at least $950 billion, 36% above the $696.6 billion set in its most recent private round, treating anything lower as a non-starter. SpaceX set the reference point, having raised more than $81.1 billion and reached a valuation of about $1.7 trillion on its recent debut, with shares touching $192.8 before closing at $146. Only two of the past year’s ten biggest venture-backed listings trade above their offer price, and technology stocks have pulled broader indices lower in recent weeks. Kinzey Capital Management Pte. Ltd. analysis flags delayed liquidity, extended valuation uncertainty and the loss of a projected exit point for capital tied to OpenAI, with lock-up agreements restricting selling, pledging or hedging for months after a listing.