OpenAI Floats Idea of Giving U.S. Government a Multibillion-Dollar Stake in the Company

A new kind of partnership between Silicon Valley and Washington may be taking shape — and it could change how America handles the AI boom forever.

OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, has reportedly opened talks with the Trump administration about handing over a 5% equity stake in the company to the U.S. government. Based on OpenAI’s most recent valuation of $852 billion from its March 2026 funding round, that stake would be worth an eye-watering $42.6 billion.

The Financial Times first broke the story on July 2, 2026, and the report was quickly confirmed by CNBC and Reuters.

What’s Actually Being Proposed

According to people familiar with the discussions, CEO Sam Altman is pushing for OpenAI to donate — not sell — a slice of the company to a U.S. sovereign wealth fund. That means no cash would change hands and taxpayers wouldn’t have to pay a cent upfront. Instead, the government would simply become a shareholder in one of the most valuable private companies on the planet.

Altman has reportedly framed the move as a way to let ordinary Americans share directly in the financial upside of artificial intelligence, rather than watching all the gains flow to private investors and tech executives.

The idea isn’t coming out of nowhere. Back in April, OpenAI floated the concept of a “Public Wealth Fund” — modeled on Alaska’s Permanent Fund, which pays state residents annual dividends from oil revenue. This new proposal looks like the next logical step: turning that abstract idea into a concrete equity offer.

Who’s in the Room

This isn’t a one-off conversation. Altman has reportedly discussed some version of a government stake with top officials for more than a year, including:

• President Donald Trump
• Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
• Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick
• Senator Bernie Sanders

That’s a notably bipartisan list. Sanders has publicly backed similar proposals in the past, and the Trump administration reportedly described a government equity stake in AI companies as a positive development back in June.

Why Now?

The timing lines up with a broader shift happening across Washington and Silicon Valley. AI companies are facing mounting political pressure over how much power their models — and the handful of companies building them — actually hold. Offering the government a seat at the table, quite literally as a shareholder, could be a way for OpenAI to ease that tension and position itself as a partner in future regulation rather than just a target of it.

There’s also recent precedent. The U.S. government already holds a 10% stake in Intel and takes a cut of China-related AI chip sales from Nvidia and AMD. Officials inside the administration have reportedly expressed regret over not negotiating harder on the Intel deal — which makes OpenAI’s offer look, to some, like an opportunity too good to pass up.

Could This Go Bigger Than OpenAI?

Possibly. Reports suggest the structure OpenAI is proposing could extend to other major AI labs, including Google, Meta, and Anthropic. None of those companies have confirmed any involvement so far, and it’s unclear whether they’d even want to participate.

What Happens Next

Nothing is finalized. The talks are reportedly still “conceptual” at this stage, and some reports suggest formalizing an arrangement like this could require an act of Congress. The White House and OpenAI have not issued official statements confirming the details.

Still, the fact that this conversation is happening at all says something bigger about where AI and government policy are headed. If it goes through, it wouldn’t just be a financial arrangement — it would raise real questions about how much influence the government has over OpenAI’s operations, priorities, and future decisions.

For now, all eyes are on Washington to see whether the administration takes OpenAI up on the offer, or comes back asking for more.