OpenAI, US Discuss 5 Percent Equity Stake Under Trump AI Push
OpenAI has suggested giving the U.S. government a 5 percent equity share in the firm, as the AI startup aims to alleviate increasing political pressure in Washington.
A 5 percent stake would be valued at approximately $42.6 billion, following the AI lab's record-breaking funding round in March, which had a post-money valuation of $852 billion.
OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman contended that providing the public with a financial stake in the company is the most effective method to share the benefits of AI.
According to the report, Altman proposed a stake of that magnitude in initial talks with the Trump administration, as part of a larger plan wherein Washington would own 5 percent of each major U.S. AI developer through a government entity.
The suggested plan anticipates additional U.S. AI firms, including Anthropic, Google, and Meta, relinquishing comparable stakes to the government via a sovereign wealth fund mechanism. It is uncertain if any of these groups would consent to OpenAI’s suggestion.
The White House, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta did not promptly reply to CNBC's inquiries for comments.
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Pressure is increasing on major U.S. AI companies as Washington becomes more cautious about cybersecurity weaknesses related to their models and escalating competition from Chinese open-source models that are showing similar capabilities and are considerably less expensive than leading American models.
Last month, Anthropic revoked access to its top-tier Mythos and Fable models to adhere to a government export control directive. On Tuesday, the firm responsible for the Claude AI platform announced it had been authorized to regain access to the models after addressing policymakers’ safety issues.
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According to reports, OpenAI’s proposed pitch followed over a year of discussions regarding a potential government investment in the company, with Altman initially presenting the idea directly to the Trump administration in early 2025.
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In April, the top model-maker suggested establishing a “public wealth fund” to manage assets that capture growth in AI firms and share the economic gains with the public.