OpenAI Drops Plan to Spin Out Robotics and Hardware

OpenAI has shelved plans to spin out its robotics and consumer hardware units, concluding the businesses would still need to be consolidated on the company’s financial statements as it prepares for a potential initial public offering in late 2026.

Executives explored creating standalone entities so the robotics and hardware teams could operate independently and raise outside capital. Internal accounting reviews found those units would likely remain on OpenAI’s consolidated books, adding reporting and operational work without delivering a materially cleaner financial presentation for investors and underwriters.

OpenAI expanded beyond chatbot software over the past year. The company acquired io Products in 2025 to develop consumer AI devices, is working with Broadcom on custom AI accelerators and has explored building humanoid robots.

Sam Altman discussed separating the robotics and consumer hardware divisions late last year and described the idea as “really annoying.”

The company is targeting a public listing in late 2026 with fundraising plans beginning at roughly $60 billion and a valuation that could reach $1 trillion. To support an IPO, OpenAI has been hiring senior finance staff, including a chief accounting officer and a corporate business finance officer, to tighten reporting and present a streamlined financial story to investors.

Pressure on revenue figured into the decision to keep the units inside the parent company. OpenAI missed several internal revenue and new-user targets earlier this year and lost ground in coding and enterprise markets to a competitor. Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar warned other executives that if revenue does not improve quickly, the company may struggle to cover future computing contracts.

Resources have been redirected to core products and some projects were scaled back, including the video-generation tool Sora.

By retaining the robotics and hardware teams within OpenAI’s corporate structure, the company avoids the extra accounting and reporting work of a formal spinout while continuing to develop hardware internally. Management said it will keep evaluating options to fund and scale those divisions as it moves closer to a potential public listing.