Republican Lawmakers Scrutinize Sam Altman Ahead of OpenAI IPO

Republican lawmakers in the US House of Representatives are stepping up scrutiny of OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman's outside business interests, the Wall Street Journal reported. Committees are reviewing the links between OpenAI and a constellation of energy, chip and nuclear ventures that Altman has personally backed.

The core question is whether the corporate decisions taken by OpenAI as a buyer of compute, power and chips have intersected with Altman's private holdings. Lawmakers say public-market investors deserve full disclosure ahead of what is shaping up to be one of the largest technology offerings on record.

An OpenAI spokesperson said the board has already reviewed potential conflicts of interest and that the IPO prospectus will contain the required disclosures. Bankers familiar with the deal say the listing could value OpenAI well above 500 billion dollars, making it a benchmark event for the sector.