OpenAI Reportedly Proposes Giving the US Government a 5% Equity Stake Worth $42.6 Billion
OpenAI has proposed handing the US government a 5% equity stake in the company, according to a Financial Times report cited by CNBC on Thursday, as the company works to defuse mounting political pressure in Washington. At OpenAI's $852 billion post-money valuation from its March 2026 funding round, a 5% stake would be worth roughly $42.6 billion.
CEO Sam Altman reportedly argued the move is the best way to share AI's financial upside with the public, according to two people familiar with the discussions.
The "Public Wealth Fund" Concept
The proposal isn't a one-off idea. It builds on an April 2026 OpenAI white paper that floated a government-seeded "Public Wealth Fund," a vehicle that would hold AI company equity and distribute returns to American citizens, similar in spirit to the Alaska Permanent Fund. That state-owned sovereign wealth fund, created in 1976 to invest Alaska's oil surplus, pays residents an annual dividend and was valued at nearly $91.2 billion as of late May.
According to Forbes, OpenAI's pitch envisions Washington holding a 5% stake in each of the country's leading AI developers, not just OpenAI. That would reportedly extend to Anthropic, Google, and Meta, though it remains unclear whether any of those companies would agree to participate.
Talks have apparently been running for more than a year. Altman first pitched the concept to the Trump administration in early 2025 and has since discussed it directly with President Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, according to the FT's reporting. Altman has also spoken with Senator Bernie Sanders, who separately proposed a far more expansive version, a 50% government stake in major AI firms funded through a one-off tax.
This Fits a Broader Pattern, Not an Isolated Move
The Trump administration has already taken direct equity or revenue-share positions in several tech and industrial companies, including a 10% stake in Intel and revenue-sharing arrangements with Nvidia and AMD on AI chip sales to China. OpenAI's proposal would extend that pattern into frontier AI labs directly.
The timing is notable. This comes as OpenAI faces its own headwinds, including a June 2026 subpoena from 42 state attorneys general over user harm, minors, and health data concerns, and a delayed IPO now expected in 2027. A government equity stake, framed as a public benefit, gives OpenAI a political counter-narrative at a moment when scrutiny of the industry is intensifying.
What Business Leaders Should Take From This
I've spent four years watching how policy conversations in Washington ripple down into enterprise AI strategy, and this is one worth tracking even though it's still conceptual. If a Public Wealth Fund structure gains traction, it could reshape how AI companies are regulated, taxed, and scrutinized well beyond OpenAI. Governance details like voting rights, tax treatment, and vesting triggers remain completely undefined, and any formal arrangement would likely need congressional approval.
For now, this doesn't change anything about how businesses should use ChatGPT or plan AI budgets. But it's a clear signal that AI's biggest players are increasingly operating in the same political arena as banks and defense contractors, and the regulatory environment around them is only going to get more complex from here, a dynamic we track closely in our broader AI industry statistics coverage.
Cut Through the Noise
What has OpenAI proposed to the US government?
OpenAI has proposed giving the US government a 5% equity stake in the company, worth approximately $42.6 billion at its $852 billion valuation. CEO Sam Altman reportedly argued this is the best way to share AI's financial upside with the American public, and the proposal envisions similar stakes across other leading AI labs.
What is the "Public Wealth Fund" OpenAI has proposed?
It's a government-seeded investment vehicle modeled on the Alaska Permanent Fund that would hold equity donated by AI companies and distribute returns, such as dividends or IPO proceeds, to American citizens. OpenAI first outlined the concept in an April 2026 white paper.
Has the US government accepted OpenAI's proposal?
No. Talks are described as early and "conceptual," and it remains unclear whether the Trump administration will pursue the stake or whether other companies like Anthropic, Google, and Meta would agree to participate. Any formal arrangement would likely require congressional approval.
