OpenAI Tells Washington: 5% Stake, No Returns 🤝

OpenAI has proposed granting the US government a 5% equity position in the company, a stake valued at roughly $42.6 billion based on its latest private valuation, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. The proposal was raised by CEO Sam Altman during early discussions with President Donald Trump's team, according to the FT, who said Altman argued that allowing the public to share in the company's financial upside would be the best way to distribute the gains created by artificial intelligence.

The offer, if accepted, would be sized against OpenAI's most recent private valuation of $852 billion, set during a record funding round in March. The company is also preparing for an initial public offering, having confidentially filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission in June, while emphasizing that the timing of any listing remains flexible.

The proposal extends beyond OpenAI itself, calling on other US-based AI firms to transfer comparable equity stakes to the government. It was not immediately clear whether those companies would adopt such a structure. OpenAI and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment sent outside regular business hours.

The idea of government ownership is not new. Altman first raised the concept with Trump personally in early 2025, according to NOTUS, and a source told CNBC in early June that the discussions had been underway for more than 12 months. The administration's appetite for the proposal remains unknown.