Artificial intelligence (AI) giant OpenAI is targeting an initial public offering (IPO) which could value the company at as much as $1 trillion, Reuters reported on Wednesday.

The IPO could come as early as the second half of 2026, according to the report, citing three people familiar with the matter.

OpenAI's chief financial officer Sarah Friar told some associates the firm is aiming for a 2027 IPO, but some advisers predict it could come sooner, the people said.

Tapping public markets for investment would help OpenAI reduce its reliance on Microsoft (MSFT), which owns a 27% stake in the company following a recent recapitalization.

OpenAI's products such as conversational assistant ChatGPT saw artificial intelligence tools explode into mainstream use a couple of years ago. Other major tech firms such as Google, Microsoft, Meta and X (formerly Twitter) have all rolled out AI assistants subsequently.

As such, AI has become the bellwether for the general technology sector, which often correlates with the cryptocurrency market, as both are regarded as risk-on investments.

OpenAI may have generated a loss of $11.5 billion in the last 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 many parts of AI that ... are kind of bubbly right now" during the company's DevDay, BBC reported, adding that Altman tried to distinguish his company from its competitors.