OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told employees Wednesday that the company “will be a public company in 2027,” but said the debut could happen sooner if “our business continues to inflect,” according to CNBC, which cited two people familiar with her remarks who asked not to be identified.
Friar made the comments during an all-hands meeting. She cast the listing as just one more capital-raising event in the company’s history, telling employees: “The IPO is not a finish line, it is a milestone, another fundraise. We raised $122 billion in March, and that gives us flexibility.”
Friar also addressed the prospect of Anthropic going public first. “As you know we are confidentially under file, and Anthropic is also under file. There is a chance they pull the cover off that confidential file in the coming weeks and become public in September. That’s OK, we are running our own race,” she said.
During the meeting, Friar walked employees through a set of slides: revenue run rate had climbed 35% quarter to date, enterprise revenue run rate was up 50% over the same period, and the company’s AI coding and work product was drawing 20 million weekly active users. OpenAI told investors it generated $6.7 billion in revenue for the second quarter, up 18% from the first quarter.
OpenAI recently topped an annualized revenue run rate of $40 billion, roughly double its run rate at the close of 2025. The company filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission under confidential cover in June without disclosing a listing date. At the time, the company said it had “not decided on timing yet” and that the filing “gives us the option to go public sooner if that ends up being best.” OpenAI carries a current valuation of $852 billion.
Friar’s remarks come amid a string of senior departures. Revenue chief Denise Dresser departed last week, roughly eight months into the job, with her exit following Brad Lightcap’s announcement by just two days — the longtime executive having wrapped up an eight-year run at the company. Fidji Simo, who oversaw OpenAI’s product business, had exited in July, saying she needed to focus on her health. OpenAI President Greg Brockman, speaking to CNBC on Monday, said the turnover rate is “not actually that atypical,” attributing the attention to the company’s high public profile.
OpenAI completed a $7 billion secondary share sale on Monday, giving current and former employees a way to sell stock at the company’s $852 billion valuation ahead of its eventual public offering.