OpenAI Proposes 5% Government Stake to Ease Washington Pressure

OpenAI has proposed giving the U.S. government a 5% equity stake worth roughly $42.6 billion, based on the company's $852 billion valuation from its March funding round Source: Financial Times, CNN, CNBC. The proposal, described as conceptual and early-stage, would require other leading U.S. AI labs — including Anthropic, Google, and Meta — to contribute similar stakes to a public investment vehicle modeled on the Alaska Permanent Fund Source: Tom's Hardware, Guardian, Engadget.

The Proposal

CEO Sam Altman has discussed the plan with President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and has also spoken with Senator Bernie Sanders Source: Financial Times, CNN, Guardian. Altman argues that giving the public a financial stake is the best way to share the benefits of AI Source: The Verge, CNBC. Any deal would likely require an act of Congress Source: CNN, Tom's Hardware.

Political Context

The Trump administration has taken an unusually hands-on approach to AI: it requested a staggered rollout of OpenAI's GPT-5.6 and temporarily imposed export controls on Anthropic's latest models Source: Tom's Hardware, CNN, Guardian. President Trump has said he is exploring options to give the public a stake in AI companies Source: CNA, CNBC. Meanwhile, Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced a competing plan for a one-time 50% tax on the stock of large AI firms to seed a sovereign wealth fund Source: Gizmodo, The Next Web, Guardian. The administration previously took a 10% stake in Intel under the CHIPS Act Source: Tom's Hardware, The Verge, CNN.

Industry Response

It remains unclear whether other AI companies would agree to the proposal Source: Financial Times, CNA, Engadget. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have confidentially filed for initial public offerings Source: CNA, Tom's Hardware, Guardian.