OpenAI has reportedly proposed giving the U.S. government a 5% ownership stake in the company as it seeks to ease growing political pressure over artificial intelligence.
The proposed stake would be worth about $42.6 billion, based on OpenAI's latest valuation of $852 billion, and is said to be part of broader discussions over how the public could share in the economic gains from AI, CNBC reported.
Washington has intensified its oversight of leading AI developers amid concerns about cybersecurity, national security and the global AI race with China. Those concerns have become more pronounced in recent months following government restrictions on some advanced AI models and broader efforts to ensure frontier AI systems do not pose risks to U.S. interests.
According to the Financial Times, which first reported the discussions, OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman suggested the government receive a 5% stake as part of a wider arrangement under which Washington would hold similar stakes in the country's leading AI developers through a government investment vehicle.
Altman reportedly argued that allowing the public to benefit financially from AI's growth would be the most effective way to distribute the technology's economic gains. It remains unclear whether any of those companies would support such an arrangement.
CNBC had previously reported last month that Altman had pitched the concept directly to the Trump administration in early 2025 and that OpenAI later proposed creating a "public wealth fund" to capture AI-driven economic growth for the benefit of Americans.
The Trump administration has taken a more active role in regulating access to advanced AI systems. Last month, Anthropic temporarily suspended access to its most advanced Mythos and Fable AI models after export control directives from the U.S. government. Access was later restored after the company addressed policymakers' concerns, according to Reuters, while Business Insider reported that Anthropic resumed broader availability following negotiations with the White House.
Washington's concerns extend beyond commercial competition. Policymakers have increasingly focused on preventing advanced AI models from being exploited for cyberattacks or by foreign adversaries, while also seeking to maintain the United States' technological advantage over China. Those national security concerns have prompted tighter oversight of frontier AI releases and greater government involvement in how companies deploy their most advanced systems.
The Trump administration has already taken ownership stakes in several strategic technology companies during the president's second term, including Intel, IBM and companies involved in quantum computing and critical minerals. The government acquired a 10% stake in Intel following an $8.9 billion investment last year, and President Donald Trump later said he believed the administration should have sought an even larger ownership position.
Trump has also publicly supported the idea of government ownership in AI companies. CNBC reported that the president previously described such stakes as "a beautiful thing" that would make Americans "partners in this revolution."
Neither OpenAI nor the White House have publicly confirmed the reported discussions.
