OpenAI Offers U.S. Government 5% Stake

OpenAI has offered the federal government a 5% equity stake worth roughly $42.6 billion, part of a plan that would push major AI companies to hand similar shares into a new sovereign wealth fund.

What OpenAI Is Proposing

The Financial Times reported, and CNBC and Reuters later confirmed, that OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman raised the equity idea directly with President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. Altman has also been in contact with Senator Bernie Sanders, a Vermont independent who caucuses with Democrats and has his own, far more aggressive version of this idea.

The 5% figure is pegged to OpenAI's $852 billion valuation, set after the company closed its March funding round. Under the plan Altman has been floating, other dominant AI developers, including Anthropic, Google, and Meta, would be asked to contribute an equivalent 5% slice of their own equity into a government run vehicle. That structure would resemble the Alaska Permanent Fund, which distributes oil revenue to state residents as annual dividends.

Whether Rivals Will Go Along

None of the other companies named has confirmed it would participate, and there is no indication yet that Anthropic, Google, or Meta are prepared to give up equity on these terms. CNN has reported that turning the idea into reality could require Congress to pass legislation, since a program of this scale would not simply happen through executive action. Neither OpenAI nor the White House responded to requests for comment.

The Case Altman Is Making

Altman has argued publicly that spreading ownership of AI companies more broadly is the clearest way to make sure ordinary Americans see some financial upside from the technology, a point he made in comments reported by CNBC. OpenAI floated a related idea back in April: a dedicated fund that would hold stakes in AI firms and return proceeds to the public, with a particular focus on people who own no stocks or other investments at all.

A Backdrop of Government Pressure on AI Firms

The timing matters. OpenAI pushed back the full release of its GPT 5.6 model last week after the government asked it to slow down. Separately, Anthropic had blocked foreign nationals from using its Fable 5 and Mythos 5 models over national security worries, restrictions the government lifted this past Tuesday.

There is already a template for the government taking a direct stake in a private tech company. Last August, Washington committed $8.9 billion for common stock in Intel, securing a 10% ownership position in the chipmaker. Trump said in May that, in hindsight, the government should have pushed for an even larger share.

Where the IPO Filings and Sanders Plan Fit In

Both OpenAI and Anthropic have filed confidentially for public listings, a move that would eventually let everyday retail investors buy shares once the companies go public. Sanders, meanwhile, has proposed something far bigger: shifting 50% of equity in the largest AI companies into a public fund, complete with government board seats and voting power, with the resulting income paid out to Americans as a universal dividend.