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OpenAI has offered the US government a 5% stake in the company, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, as the ChatGPT maker tries to head off growing political heat in Washington.
That slice would be worth around $42.6 billion (€37.4bn), a significant sum even for a company as flush as OpenAI. The figure is based on the $852 billion (€749bn) price tag investors put on the firm just three months ago, when OpenAI raised fresh funds in March.
According to the reporting, Sam Altman wants other big American AI players — Anthropic, Google and Meta among them — to hand over a similar 5% cut too, effectively creating a government-owned slice of the entire US AI industry.
It is not yet clear whether any of them would agree.
Altman’s reported claims form a continuity with statements he has made in the past, where he pitched a “public wealth fund” that would invest in AI firms and pay out the profits to ordinary Americans.
The idea is inspired by Alaska’s oil dividend scheme, which shares state oil revenue with residents each year.
Rival Anthropic has floated something similar, a “digital dividend” funded by taxing the AI sector.
Altman has already discussed the plan with US President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
He has also spoken to Senator Bernie Sanders, who thinks the offer does not go nearly far enough.
Sanders wants a one-off 50% tax on the shares of OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI, and has dismissed Altman’s proposal as a watered-down alternative to real public ownership.
Trump has acknowledged the talks but stopped short of confirming anything has been agreed upon.
Altman first raised the idea of giving Washington a stake in early 2025, and talks have rumbled on behind the scenes for more than a year.