OpenAI Proposes 5% Equity Stake for U.S. Government to Resolve Regulatory Friction

OpenAI Opens Talks With Trump Administration Over Government Equity

@OpenAI has entered preliminary discussions with the Trump administration over a proposal that would hand the U.S. government a 5% equity stake in the company. The talks were first reported by the Financial Times, citing two people familiar with the matter.

At OpenAI's most recent post-money valuation of $852 billion, a 5% holding would be worth roughly $42.6 billion. CEO Sam Altman has argued that giving the public a financial interest in the company is the best way to share the upside of AI.

Altman has discussed the stake proposal with President Trump, commerce secretary Howard Lutnick, and treasury secretary Scott Bessent. Last month, President Trump said he was exploring options to give the public a stake in leading AI companies, in response to concerns that individual Americans will not share in the sector's expected profits.

A Broader Mandate for the AI Industry

The proposal extends well beyond OpenAI alone. The arrangement envisions other U.S. AI companies, including Anthropic, Google, and Meta, ceding similar stakes to the government through a sovereign wealth fund vehicle. Executives have suggested that leading U.S. AI firms allot 5% of their equity to a vehicle similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund, a state-owned corporation seeded with oil revenues that pays annual dividends to residents and helps support Alaska's budget.

It is not clear whether any of these companies would agree to OpenAI's proposal. The White House, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta had not responded to requests for comment at the time of publication.

Pressure has been mounting on major U.S. AI firms as Washington grows increasingly wary of cybersecurity vulnerabilities associated with their models and rising competition from Chinese open-source models that are proving to be almost as capable and significantly cheaper than some of the top American models.

OpenAI's reported pitch came after more than a year of talks about a possible government stake in the company, with Altman first raising the concept with the Trump administration in early 2025. In April, the company proposed creating a "public wealth fund" to hold assets capturing growth in AI companies and distribute the economic benefits to the public.

If finalized, the deal would give the federal government direct equity in one of the central pillars of the 2026 digital economy, setting a precedent for how Washington might engage with the AI sector going forward.

Sources:
CNBC: OpenAI proposes 5% stake to Trump administration to ease Washington pressure
Bloomberg: OpenAI Proposes Giving the US Government a 5% Stake
Forbes: OpenAI Reportedly Pitches Granting US Government 5% Stake