OpenAI in Talks to Grant U.S. Government 5% Stake, FT Reports

The proposal is designed to give Americans a direct financial interest in the growth of artificial intelligence while helping to reduce rising political pressure on the sector.

OpenAI has reportedly considered offering the U.S. government a 5% equity stake as part of a broader effort to deepen its relationship with the Trump administration and expand public access to the economic upside of AI, according to a Thursday report from the Financial Times.

The idea is still at an early, exploratory stage and was said to have been introduced by CEO Sam Altman in preliminary conversations with U.S. officials, the report noted, citing sources familiar with the matter.

Under the concept, major U.S. AI firms could allocate similar equity stakes into a shared public investment vehicle, modeled after Alaska’s Permanent Fund, which distributes returns from state-backed investments to residents.

The goal is to address increasing regulatory and political scrutiny by giving citizens a tangible stake in the industry’s long-term success. The discussions reportedly included senior Trump administration figures such as Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, though any plan would likely need approval from Congress.

It remains uncertain whether other major AI players — including Anthropic, Google, and Meta — would back the proposal, the FT added.

OpenAI declined to comment on the report, and further inquiries have been made. The San Francisco-based company also confidentially submitted draft IPO documents to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission in June but has not committed to a timeline, with some reports suggesting a potential delay until 2027.