JUST IN: SAM ALTMAN'S BUSINESS DEALINGS ARE UNDER FEDERAL SCRUTINY AHEAD OF OPENAI'S IPO The House Oversight Committee launched a probe. Six GOP state AGs are asking the SEC to review. The specific deals in the spotlight: - Helion: Altman is a personal investor in the nuclear fusion firm. OpenAI was reportedly asked to back Helion, per WSJ. Altman recused himself from recent discussions. - Stoke Space: Altman invested through his family office. Last summer he reportedly asked the rocket-maker about partnering with OpenAI to build data centers in space. The scrutiny: - House Oversight Committee Chairman James Comer sent a letter Friday requesting a briefing on potential conflicts of interest. - Six state AGs (Florida, Montana, Nebraska, Iowa, West Virginia, Louisiana) wrote to SEC Chairman Paul Atkins, asking for review ahead of the IPO. - The AGs flagged that Altman "has no direct equity in OpenAI," so "his personal financial interests have only limited alignment with OpenAI's financial performance." The IPO backdrop: - OpenAI is valued at roughly $850 billion in the private market. - The IPO is expected to be one of the largest ever. - The company is expected to quickly enter major indexes and ETFs post-listing. OpenAI board chairman Bret Taylor testified Monday that Altman had been "forthright" and "proactive and transparent" about his outside involvements.