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OpenAI has received a subpoena from a coalition of state attorneys general who are investigating whether the company has harmed users of its flagship chatbot, according to reporting aggregated by Bing News and Tech in Asia.
The probe is multistate in scope, meaning several state-level prosecutors are coordinating their inquiry rather than acting individually — a tactic that amplifies legal pressure on a company and signals that regulators view the concerns as serious enough to warrant a unified response.
The timing is notable. According to the Bing News report, the investigation is unfolding as OpenAI prepares to offer stock to the public for the first time. An IPO puts a company under intense scrutiny from investors who need to weigh legal and regulatory risks before buying in, meaning the probe could complicate or delay OpenAI's path to the public markets.
Neither source specifies exactly which states are involved, what specific harms are alleged, or what form of user safety is under examination — whether emotional, psychological, financial, or otherwise. The subpoena signals that investigators want documentary evidence from the company itself.
OpenAI's ChatGPT has become one of the most widely used AI tools in the world, with hundreds of millions of users ranging from students to professionals. Concerns about AI chatbots have included issues like emotional dependency, harmful advice, and exposure of minors to inappropriate content — though the sources do not attribute any specific allegation to this probe.
If state attorneys general find violations of consumer protection laws, OpenAI could face fines, mandated product changes, or other penalties — and any finding would land squarely in the prospectus that potential IPO investors must read.