OpenAI proposes 5% stake to Trump administration amid regulatory push, FT reports

The proposal

OpenAI has discussed giving the U.S. government a 5% stake as the $852 billion startup seeks to overcome political hurdles and secure support from the Trump administration, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. Chief executive Sam Altman and other executives have suggested that each of the leading American AI developers (including Anthropic, Google and Meta) contribute a similar 5% equity share to a publicly held investment vehicle inspired by the Alaska Permanent Fund. The sovereign fund invests oil revenues and pays dividends to state residents; Altman has argued that offering the public a financial stake is the best way to share the benefits of artificial intelligence.

“Everyone on Earth should benefit from this technology and determine for themselves how best to use it.”

Political engagement

Altman raised the proposal in early-stage conversations with President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to people familiar with the talks. The overture comes as the White House is still deciding when OpenAI can release its most powerful models widely, through a regulatory process that Altman has described as less than "optimal." OpenAI and rival Anthropic have both seen advanced model launches delayed or limited after government scrutiny. The discussions also included Senator Bernie Sanders, a progressive who wants public ownership of roughly half of each U.S. AI company through a sovereign fund, contending that the technology relies on human knowledge used without permission or compensation.

Broader vision

On Wednesday, Altman published an op-ed in the Financial Times calling for a U.S.-led international forum to establish AI regulatory standards, inspired by global aviation safety rules and the International Atomic Energy Agency. The forum would conduct expert analysis, make the technology available to rule-following nations, and act as a governance mechanism to guard against unsafe commercial racing. This public appeal reflects growing pressure on AI labs: lawmakers and parts of the public worry about large data centers, job displacement, and digital security risks. OpenAI’s April policy paper, “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age,” already floated the creation of a Public Wealth Fund to give every citizen a slice of AI-driven economic growth.

Reactions

The proposal has drawn skepticism. An investor in both Anthropic and OpenAI told Axios it reads more like a “political move” to curry favor with the administration than a genuine shared benefit for the public. David Sherman, an AI and financial inclusion strategist at the decentralized cloud network io.net, called a government stake a “troubling milestone” that would hurt competition and grant one company an official stamp of approval. Meanwhile, proponents point to the U.S. government’s 9.9% stake in Intel, acquired under the CHIPS Act in August 2025, which has seen shares climb nearly 400% as a precedent (though that deal required an act of Congress, and any AI stake would likely need similar legislative backing).

What’s next

Talks remain preliminary and no agreement is imminent. Trump said last month he planned to meet with top AI firms to explore the possibility of the government taking equity. Any arrangement would face congressional hurdles and is unlikely to advance quickly, but the initiative marks a new phase in the increasingly intertwined relationship between Washington and Silicon Valley as AI regulation takes shape.