State Legal Leaders Seek SEC Probe of OpenAI’s Public Offering

Attorneys general are asking the SEC to carefully vet OpenAI’s filings when the company goes public, as controversy tied to the potentially massive IPO could impact the health of state-run pensions.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s reported entanglements between his personal portfolio and companies with which OpenAI has done business introduce risks to residents’ retirement savings, Montana Attorney General Austin Knudsen and nine other attorneys general said Tuesday in a letter to Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins. This is in part because state pensions would likely be “forced buyers” of OpenAI once the company is public and grouped into pooled investment vehicles, according to the letter.

“I have serious concerns about OpenAI’s leadership and what it could mean for public retirement systems across the nation if the company moves forward with its initial public offering,” Knudsen said in a press release.

OpenAI did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

Tuesday’s letter from the attorneys general comes nearly a week after a similar request from SOC Investment Group that the SEC carefully evaluate SpaceX’s filings ahead of its IPO due to concerns about the “accuracy and reliability of financials” included.

The attorneys general coalition beseeched the SEC to scrutinize OpenAI’s initial registration documents and other filings associated with the public offering. Investors need assurances that conflicts of interest, material relationships, and executive officer transactions are in the public record, the letter said. Failure to disclose that information would open the company to investigation under securities laws.

“Only full transparency on these issues will enable investors—including our citizens and our respective States’ investment funds—to make informed decisions whether to invest in OpenAI’s publicly traded stock,” the letter said.