OpenAI has proposed giving the U.S. government a 5% equity stake in the startup as part of a broader effort to ensure Americans share in the financial gains from AI, according to a report by the Financial Times. The discussions are in the early stages and no agreement has been reached.
Under the proposal, OpenAI would encourage other leading U.S. AI companies such as Anthropic, Google and Meta to contribute similar stakes to a public investment vehicle modeled after the Alaska Permanent Fund, which distributes annual dividends to state residents from oil revenues.
CEO Sam Altman has reportedly discussed the idea with President Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Sen. Bernie Sanders.
The proposal comes as AI companies face growing political scrutiny over the economic impact of automation, cybersecurity risks and the enormous wealth being created by frontier AI developers. According to the FT, OpenAI believes public ownership could help align the industry’s financial success with broader public interests while easing political resistance in Washington.
The discussions also follow increased government oversight of advanced AI models, including a recent delay in OpenAI’s release of GPT-5.6 and temporary export restrictions imposed on Anthropic’s most advanced models.
The proposal echoes a broader shift in U.S. industrial policy toward taking equity stakes in strategically important technology companies. Last year, the federal government acquired a 10% stake in Intel as part of an $8.9 billion investment tied to domestic semiconductor manufacturing, while also taking minority stakes in several companies involved in critical minerals and quantum computing.