OpenAI Reportedly Proposes Giving US Government a Stake in Leading AI Companies
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has reportedly proposed that leading AI companies, including OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, xAI, and Meta, give the US government a 5% stake in their businesses to share the benefits of the AI boom with the public.
According to the Financial Times, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been in talks with the US government, suggesting that his company and other top AI firms grant the government a five percent equity stake. The proposal aims to share the spoils of the AI boom with the public and clear political hurdles that have hampered the release of new AI models.
The plan would involve not only OpenAI but also companies like Google, Anthropic, xAI, and Meta. Recently, AI companies have faced government roadblocks. Anthropic was ordered by the Trump administration to block access to its Mythos and Fable cybersecurity models and only recently got permission to restore user access. OpenAI had to release a limited preview of its GPT-5.6 model to government-approved partners as requested by the administration.
In June, Trump signed a scaled-back executive order asking AI companies to voluntarily share their most powerful models for government review 30 days before public release. However, politicians, including Trump's allies, and organizations like the UN are calling for stricter AI policies.
Altman and other OpenAI executives have floated the idea of having leading AI developers give a five percent equity to sovereign funds, such as the Alaska Permanent Fund, which pays dividends to the state government and residents. Talks are still in early stages, and any deal would require congressional approval.
