Skip to content

Sam Altman floats giving US government a 5% stake in AI firms

techJul 2, 202626739

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has proposed giving the U.S. government a roughly 5% equity stake in OpenAI as part of a broader plan to have Washington hold 5% of each leading U.S. AI developer through a government vehicle, the Financial Times reported. A 5% holding in OpenAI would be worth about $42.6 billion, based on a post-money valuation of $852 billion after a March funding round. Altman argued the stake would share the economic upside of AI with the public and first raised the idea directly with the Trump administration in early 2025 after more than a year of internal talks. The proposal envisions other firms such as Anthropic, Google, and Meta ceding similar stakes to a sovereign wealth fund-style vehicle, although it is not clear any would agree. The move comes amid growing Washington scrutiny of AI models over cybersecurity concerns and competition from lower-cost Chinese open-source models; Anthropic temporarily disabled then restored access to advanced models in response to an export control directive. The White House, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google, and Meta did not immediately comment on the reported proposal. It remains unresolved whether the government will accept a stake or whether other major AI developers will participate.

Hypervisible
@hypervisible.blacksky.app

“OpenAI has discussed giving a 5 per cent stake to the US government as the $852bn AI start-up seeks to clear political obstacles by securing financial buy-in from the Trump administration.”

7845d ago
Quoting this
Dr. Hilary Agro, PhD 🍄91

They want the government entangled so you feel that your personal survival is tied up with AI the same way that they've convinced so many people that you can't boycott or divest because you'll be hurting some teacher's pension. Recognizing this scam is the only thing that will keep us all alive.

acabylon bee27

good start but why not make it 100 per cent of all companies

Cheryl Lynn Eaton27

Who wants a 5% stake in a useless money pit?

Chris “Chance!” Brown18

I don’t wish a bad life on anyone, but this guy should be forced to give his assets away, and be limited to living in a shack and working minimum wage for the rest of his life

Mike MacFerrin13

Translation: Altman knows the bubble will burst and wants a trillion-dollar federal bailout.

Eric Ravenscraft8

it's not nearly the point, but any outlet calling OpenAI a "start-up" is starting a barrel fire with its credibility

🔞Mx Wred's haunted brain🔞7

If you got US $825BN in the bank you aren't a fucking start up, you're a wage thieving-tax evading-protection racket.

Kyle Swanson, MD, FAANS, FCNS6

The ultimate con is to get the federal government to pay for your failure

OuterBoroPrincess5

National ownership of private industry, you say?

scott dagostino5

Remember that when taxpayers are stuck bailing out a corporation that’s “too big to fail,” none of that was a natural development. We the public are forced to subsidize and *create* these monstrous behemoths, then take all the punishment when their execs fuck it all up.

3 sources