OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s exclusive interview with Fortune’s Alyson Shontell

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman told Fortune Editor-in-Chief Alyson Shontell in a Friday interview in San Francisco that the company's IPO is "ill-timed" given safety concerns and will not take place until 2027, and he voiced support for an industry-wide slowdown in AI development. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei separately announced a new safety measure granting independent evaluators permanent, employee-level access inside the company, saying "We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models." The remarks followed an Anthropic researcher's prediction that AI has a greater than 10% chance of killing all of humanity by 2030.

- In today’s CEO Daily: Altman spoke about safety as AI doomsday anxiety ramped up. - The big leadership story: AI leaders voice support for an industry-wide slowdown. - The markets: Mostly down as investors weigh the AI industry pumping the brakes - Plus: All the news and watercooler chat from Fortune . Good morning. Alyson Shontell, Fortune ’s Editor-in-Chief, here.“What is Sam Altman thinking?” That’s been the question on the minds of everyone who follows tech closely, especially this week as AI doomsday anxiety broke through to the mainstream. The match that lit the flame: an Anthropic researcher’s prediction that AI has a greater than 10% chance of killing all of humanity https://fortune.com/2026/09/10/ex-anthropic-researcher-jacob-coxon-ai-could-end-humanity-fails-to-answer-most-essential-question/ by 2030. I’ve long been fascinated by the brilliant and polarizing OpenAI CEO, and jumped at the chance to interview Altman in person in San Francisco on Friday for my podcast, Fortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry . On my agenda to ask Altman: Where AI is today, and can it be built safely in the months and years ahead? In our hour-long sit-down, we discussed how quickly the models are developing, whether or not more powerful AI can be controlled, and what he would do if he realized AI could not be built safely. We also discussed the upcoming IPO https://fortune.com/2026/09/12/sam-altman-openai-ipo-delay-ill-advised-moment-safety-concerns/ , which he said is “ill-timed” given the safety concerns and won’t take place until 2027. Altman told me no gamble with humanity is OK, and that he’d have no problem standing up to his investors if he needed to pause or stop AI development altogether. He also had thoughts on what’s needed from a regulatory perspective both nationally and internationally, and alluded to a pact https://fortune.com/2026/09/12/openai-ceo-sam-altman-safety-pact-ai-companies-risks-anthropic-dario-amodei/ he’s making with industry peers to slow down while safety and alignment solutions can catch up to model capabilities. “We are clearly, today, at a point on the curve with great potential and real risk,” he told me. Watch or listen to the full interview here. https://fortune.com/media/?v=6af37da2-aa89-463b-8ddc-9f34677bd888 Contact CEO Daily via Diane Brady at diane.brady@fortune.com mailto:diane.brady@fortune.com Top leadership news Anthropic CEO calls for slower AI race Dario Amodei announced his company is committing to a new safety measure—giving independent evaluators permanent, employee-level access inside the company—as part of a push to slow AI development https://fortune.com/2026/09/12/anthropic-ceo-dario-amodei-ai-safety-global-panic/ . “We must slow the pace at which we improve the capabilities of AI models. Progress will still seem fast, and we must make wise use of the time we gain,” Amodei said on Saturday. Other AI leaders, including Altman, expressed support https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2026-09-14/openai-s-altman-voices-support-for-pacing-ai-development?srnd=homepage-americas for an industry-wide slowdown. Lululemon CEO’s inherited mess worsens When Lululemon announced in April that former Nike senior executive Heidi O’Neill was becoming its new CEO this month, the athleisure pioneer was already struggling. But in the five months between her appointment and when she assumed the job last week, Lululemon’s deterioration has only accelerated https://fortune.com/2026/09/12/lululemon-new-ceo-heidi-oneill-leggings-sales-decline-nike-mess/ . The company reported another terrible quarter and cut its full-year outlook for the second time in three months. Why Virgin Group’s CEO scrolls TikTok daily Josh Bayliss regularly turns to TikTok—not simply for a mid-afternoon dopamine hit, but to better understand how younger generations think, what they care about, and where new business opportunities may be emerging. “The zeitgeist is not people in their 50s like me,” he told Fortune https://fortune.com/2026/09/13/virgin-group-ceo-josh-bayliss-scrolls-on-tiktok-gen-z-zeitgesit-younger-consumes-business-success/ . “The zeitgeist is 20-something-year-olds who are shaping the culture that we have an obligation to serve.” The markets S&P 500 futures are down 0.78% this morning. The last session closed up 0.86%. The STOXX Europe 600 was down 0.32% in early trading. The U.K.’s FTSE 100 was up 0.51% in early trading. The Nikkei 225 was down 0.81%. South Korea’s KOSPI was down 3.26%. China’s CSI 300 was down 0.67%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng was up 0.45%. India’s markets are closed today. Bitcoin is at $78k. Around the watercooler After a decade of failed bills and three years of resignations, Washington finally discovers it cares about AI safety https://fortune.com/2026/09/12/after-three-years-of-silence-washington-discovers-it-finally-cares-about-ai-safety/ by Catherina Gioino Amazon workers on food stamps have tripled despite its record revenue—and it’s just the latest evidence of the new economy of shrinking labor shares https://fortune.com/2026/09/13/amazon-workers-food-stamps-tripled-record-revenue-labor-share/ by Sasha Rogelberg CEO Daily is curated and edited by Joseph Abrams, Jason Ma, Claire Zillman, and Lee Clifford. Sign up https://www.fortune.com/newsletters/ceo-daily?&itm source=fortune&itm medium=nl article tout&itm campaign=ceo daily to get it delivered free to your inbox.