OpenAI has explored the idea of giving the U.S. government a 5% stake as part of efforts to strengthen ties with the Trump administration and broaden public participation in the benefits of artificial intelligence, the Financial Times reported Thursday.
The proposal, which remains in the conceptual stage, was reportedly raised by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in early discussions with US officials, the FT said, citing two people familiar with the discussions.
The idea would see major U.S. AI companies contribute similar equity shares to a public investment vehicle, modeled on the Alaska Permanent Fund, which distributes returns on state investments to residents.
The initiative aims to address growing political scrutiny of the industry by giving the public a direct financial stake in the sector’s long-term growth. The discussions reportedly involved senior Trump administration officials, including Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, although such an arrangement would likely require congressional approval.
It is unclear whether other companies interested in AI, including Anthropic, Google (GOOG) and Meta (META), would support the proposal, the FT said.
OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, declined to comment to the FT. CoinDesk has contacted OpenAI for further comment.
The San Francisco-based company confidentially filed a draft IPO document with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in June. The company has since indicated that it has not committed to a listing timeline. Recent reports suggest councilors are considering a delay until 2027.
