Artificial intelligence (AI) giant OpenAI is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) that could value the company at up to $1 trillion, Reuters reported on Wednesday.
The IPO could occur as early as the second half of 2026, according to the report, which cites three people familiar with the matter.
OpenAI Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar told some associates that the company is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) in 2027, but some advisers predict it could happen sooner, the people said.
Tapping public markets to invest would help OpenAI reduce its dependence on Microsoft (MSFT), which owns a 27% stake in the company following a recent recapitalization.
OpenAI products, such as conversational assistant ChatGPT, saw AI tools go mainstream a couple of years ago. Other major tech companies, such as Google, Microsoft, Meta, and X (formerly Twitter), have subsequently implemented AI assistants.
As such, AI has become the bellwether of the broader tech sector, which is often correlated with the cryptocurrency market as both are considered risky investments.
OpenAI may have generated a loss of $11.5 billion in the latest quarter, The Register reported Wednesday, citing Microsoft’s quarterly earnings.
OpenAI did not immediately respond to CoinDesk’s request for comment.
Earlier this month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said he thinks “there are a lot of parts of AI that… are a bit frothy right now” during the company’s DevDay, the BBC reported, adding that Altman tried to distinguish his company from its competitors.
