OpenAI will allocate IPO shares to retail investors as it preps for debut, CFO says

Sarah Friar, CFO of OpenAI, speaking on CNBC's Squawk Box at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Jan. 21st, 2026.

OpenAI plans to reserve a portion of shares for individual investors in what's expected to be a blockbuster initial public offering.

Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told CNBC that the San Francisco-based artificial intelligence giant started testing the waters with retail in its latest funding round and saw "really strong demand" from individuals.

OpenAI will "for sure" hold a slice for retail when it goes public, Friar told CNBC on Wednesday.

"AI needs to garner trust in everything that we do. That is part of why retail particularly speaks to me," Friar said. "It has to be that everyone partakes, that it isn't just that a very small group, and everyone else gets left behind."

She pointed to her time as CFO of Square, now known as Block , where the fintech company offered a direct selling program to small business owners and sellers in its IPO. She also highlighted OpenAI cofounder Elon Musk's model with Tesla and SpaceX.

SpaceX is expected to go public as soon as June and is reportedly holding almost 30% of its shares for retail buyers.

"Everybody wants to own part of a rocket company — I hope everyone wants to own part of ChatGPT. It helps when you're a consumer brand," Friar said.