OpenAI is staying private (for now)

OpenAI just announced it will delay its IPO due to ongoing AI safety concerns. But when you’re a company as big as OpenAI, where does your funding come from? In this episode, venture capital doesn’t cut it. Plus: Second quarter GDP was revised up thanks to all that corporate AI investment, Kai breaks down why the labor market is kinda like a bathtub, and farmers turn to agritainment as crop revenue shrinks.

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Read the stories in today’s episode:

• Second quarter GDP growth is brought to you by the letters A and I (marketplace.org/story/2026/09/30/ai-spending-b…)
• Why full employment is like filling a bathtub with water (marketplace.org/story/2026/09/30/understanding…)
• OpenAI delayed its IPO. That makes private investors happy (marketplace.org/story/2026/09/30/openais-delay…)
• Corn mazes, apple picking, and hayrides: More farms are leaning into "agritourism" (marketplace.org/story/2026/09/30/farms-lean-in…)
• Is your Dijon spicy? Heat and drought might be the cause (marketplace.org/story/2026/09/30/climate-chang…)
• How "Neon Tom" made a 40-year career out of neon signs (marketplace.org/story/2026/09/30/neon-signs-po…)