OpenAI 'will be a public company in 2027' or sooner, CFO Friar tells employees

OpenAI CFO Sarah Friar told employees during an all-hands meeting on Wednesday that the artificial intelligence lab "will be a public company in 2027," but that it could make its public market debut sooner if "our business continues to inflect."

"The IPO is not a finish line, it is a milestone, another fundraise," Friar told employees, according to two sources familiar with her comments who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak publicly. "We raised $122 billion in March, and that gives us flexibility."

OpenAI confidentially filed its IPO prospectus with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, but it has not publicly disclosed when it plans to debut. The company's chief rival, Anthropic, also confidentially filed its prospectus with regulators in June, and it's been holding early meetings with investors, as CNBC previously reported.

Friar told employees on Wednesday not to worry if Anthropic makes its debut ahead of OpenAI.

"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," Friar said, according to the people.

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