OpenAI CFO reportedly questions Altman’s $600 billion spending and 2026 IPO timeline

According to Reuters, citing The Information, OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar has raised concerns internally about CEO Sam Altman’s plan to take the company public as early as the fourth quarter of 2026 while committing to as much as $600 billion in spending over five years. Reuters said it could not independently verify the report, and OpenAI did not immediately respond to its request for comment.

The report says Friar told some colleagues earlier this year that she did not believe OpenAI would be ready for an IPO in 2026, pointing to the organizational and procedural work still needed before a listing. Reuters also said, citing The Information, that Friar questioned whether OpenAI needed to spend so heavily on AI servers in the coming years and whether slowing revenue growth would be enough to support those commitments.

Reuters says the disagreement centers on timing and scale

The information briefing frames the issue as a split between Altman’s timetable and Friar’s view of what the company can realistically support. Its summary says Altman has been pushing for a public debut as early as late 2026, while Friar has privately questioned whether OpenAI would be ready on that schedule. The same briefing says the company plans to spend billions in advance to finance data centers it would use.

Reuters’ version adds financial context. It says OpenAI recently closed a funding round with $122 billion in committed capital, valuing the company at $852 billion. Reuters also said, again attributing the number to The Information, that OpenAI is generating about $2 billion in revenue per month.

OpenAI has not confirmed the report

So far, there is no public OpenAI announcement backing the IPO timeline described in the report. What is confirmed is that the company is still in a heavy investment phase and remains under pressure to secure more infrastructure. Business Insider reported on April 4 that OpenAI is also reshuffling parts of its leadership team, with Brad Lightcap moving into a new role focused on special projects while other senior executives step back for health reasons.

That leaves the IPO question where it started: in third-party reporting rather than an official company statement. For now, the clearest version is Reuters’ framing of The Information’s report: Friar has reportedly raised doubts about whether OpenAI will be ready to go public in 2026 and whether the scale of the company’s spending plans is sustainable on that timetable.