OpenAI has dropped plans to spin out its robotics and hardware units
CryptopolitanMay 5, 2026 10:10 AM
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OpenAI has had to shelve its plan to spin out its robotics unit as the company gears up for an IPO, already valued at $1 trillion.
Over the past year, OpenAI has expanded far beyond chatbots. The AI firm acquired io Products in an all-stock deal in 2025 to develop consumer-specialized AI-native hardware. It’s building custom AI accelerators with Broadcom, and also exploring building humanoid robots.
Sam Altman discussed separating OpenAI’s robotics and consumer hardware divisions into standalone entities late last year. The plan would allow the businesses to operate and grow independently and raise external funding outside of OpenAI, The Wall Street Journal reported, citing people familiar with the matter.
OpenAI, however, dropped the idea after concluding the new businesses would likely still need to be consolidated on its financial statements.
That meant the restructuring would add operational overhead without delivering the cleaner financial picture that investors and underwriters want to see ahead of an IPO. In short, the company would get the complexity of a breakup with none of the accounting benefits.
IPO pressure is shaping OpenAI priorities
OpenAI is targeting a potential public listing in late 2026, with fundraising ambitions starting at $60 billion and a valuation that could reach $1 trillion.
Cryptopolitan previously reported that the company revealed IPO plans for Q4 2026, with CFO-level hires including Ajmere Dale as chief accounting officer and Cynthia Gaylor as corporate business finance officer.
To hit the numbers, OpenAI will need to present the most streamlined financial story possible.
OpenAI missed several internal revenue and new user targets earlier this year after losing ground to Anthropic in coding and enterprise markets. It’s quite troubling, judging by the manner in which the company’s CFO, Sarah Friar, tabled it.
Friar expressed concerns to other OpenAI execs, saying the leading AI company may not be able to pay for future computing contracts if the revenue situation doesn’t improve quickly.
The company has also had to scale back some projects, including its video generation tool Sora, to redirect resources toward core products. The decision to drop the idea of spinning out its robotics and hardware units shows OpenAI has its eyes fixed on a successful IPO, although Altman had previously thought “it’d be really annoying.”
OpenAI, Anthropic race to go public
OpenAI’s biggest competitor, Anthropic, is also gearing toward going public.
In December, Anthropic hired the law firm Wilson Sonsini in preparation for its IPO, Cryptopolitan reported. The firm reportedly plans to go public later this year, but no specific date has been confirmed.
Anthropic is currently in the process of raising roughly $50 billion, which could value the company at about $900 billion, pre-IPO. That figure doubles its current valuation of $380 billion, following a last funding round in February. Investors’ demand is so high that some people predict Anthropic could hit a $1 trillion valuation.
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