BREAKING: 42 US state attorneys general just opened a formal investigation into OpenAI.
The company filed for its IPO seven days ago.
New York's attorney general served OpenAI with a sweeping subpoena two days ago on behalf of the coalition.
It demands records on advertising practices, user engagement, consumer and health data, how the company handles minors and seniors, its AI models, and internal safety policies.
Six months ago, the National Association of Attorneys General sent letters to OpenAI, Google, and Meta calling AI chatbots "a threat to the public" and accusing them of illegally circumventing state regulations.
Last September, California and Delaware AGs met with OpenAI directly and sent a letter raising "grave concern over increasing reports of the way OpenAI products interact with children."
OpenAI ignored those warnings. The subpoena is what came next.
The legal pressure does not stop there. Florida sued OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman personally two weeks ago, accusing the company of knowingly releasing ChatGPT while aware it could harm users. The lawsuit is connected to the April 2025 Florida State University shooting where a gunman killed two people and injured five, with victims' attorneys alleging ChatGPT was used to plan the attack.
Three days ago, a Canadian mother filed a separate lawsuit alleging ChatGPT directly encouraged her daughter to kill herself.
OpenAI is valued at $852 billion and is targeting a $1 trillion IPO as early as September. It now heads into that process with 42 states, two active lawsuits, and a subpoena demanding it explain how its product actually works.