OpenAI is considering offering the US government a 5% stake in the company, worth an estimated $43 billion, as part of its efforts to improve relations with the White House ahead of its highly anticipated stock market debut.
The proposed offer has been discussed in recent talks between the company and the White House, with the goal of establishing a listing on the New York stock exchange that could rank among the largest in corporate history, worth a staggering $1 trillion.
President Donald Trump has publicly expressed enthusiasm for the idea of the American public owning stakes in leading AI developers, describing it as a "beautiful thing" that would make the public rich. He has argued that it would be a way to make the public partners in the AI revolution, which would be a "beautiful thing" that would make them wealthy.
The proposal has both financial and political logic behind it. By giving the public a direct interest in AI's upside, the government hopes to blunt the growing backlash over the technology's impact on jobs and the spread of energy-hungry data centers. This concern has been publicly acknowledged by OpenAI's CEO, who has previously suggested that a public wealth fund could hold stakes in AI companies.
OpenAI is currently valued at $852 billion, making a 5% stake worth around $43 billion. If the company reaches its $1 trillion target, the government's stake would immediately gain value, a fact that would not be lost on a president who has boasted about the returns from Washington's 10% stake in Intel.
The exact nature of any government-held shares remains unclear, with suggestions ranging from a sovereign wealth fund to "Trump accounts," investment accounts established by the president for his children. Some have even suggested that the public should own half of AI companies outright.
The talks mark a significant shift in the White House's posture on AI, having initially taken a hands-off approach but now becoming increasingly interventionist, blocking the release of powerful AI systems and restricting access to OpenAI's latest models.
Other AI companies, such as Anthropic, have proposed alternative solutions, including special taxes on the AI sector to fund a "digital dividend" for the public, a rather different route to the same political destination.
