OpenAI is in early-stage talks with the Trump administration about handing the US government a 5% stake in the company, according to the Financial Times. Sam Altman is driving the pitch, arguing that a public equity slice is the cleanest way to share AI's upside with citizens who don't own stock. The number sits far below the 50% one-time stock tax that Senator Bernie Sanders proposed last month, which would raise an estimated $7 trillion for direct payments and public programs.
The talks extend beyond OpenAI. The Trump administration has reportedly approached Google and Meta about similar stakes, though none of the three companies is commenting on the Financial Times report. Meta has not even voluntarily agreed to share its frontier models with US officials for safety testing, a signal that the largest labs are not aligned on how much ground to cede. Altman has met with Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Sanders himself.
OpenAI is pitching the arrangement as a sovereign AI wealth fund modeled on the Alaska Permanent Fund, which invests state oil revenues and pays dividends to Alaska residents. The company first floated the concept in the spring, arguing in a blog post that an AI-led future will likely require "new approaches that give people durable stakes in the systems creating value." A 5% stake, OpenAI says, would give Americans more control over the direction of frontier AI.
Key facts
- 01OpenAI is in early-stage talks to give the US government a 5% equity stake, per Financial Times reporting.
- 02Sanders' rival plan imposes a one-time 50% tax on leading AI firms' stock, projected to yield $7 trillion.
- 0370% of Americans oppose AI data centers being built in their area, and 50% are more concerned than excited about AI.
- 04The Trump administration has reportedly approached Google and Meta about similar stakes; neither has signaled agreement.
- 05OpenAI's model is the Alaska Permanent Fund, which pays dividends to residents from state oil wealth.
The political backdrop is a wall of public skepticism. Recent polling shows 70% of Americans do not want AI data centers built in their area, and 50% say they are more concerned than excited about AI. A June Pew Research Center report found that views on AI tilt negative even among younger adults, despite growing use of chatbots and AI summaries. Earlier this week, NBC News reported that voters across party lines want tighter AI regulations, a signal both parties are reading ahead of upcoming elections.
Sanders is not moved by the OpenAI number. Sources familiar with his conversations with Altman told AP News last month that the two remain "far apart" on the size of the public's stake. Sanders' legislative proposal would apply a one-time 50% tax on the stock of leading AI firms, with proceeds distributed as direct payments or invested in health care, education, and housing.
Sanders also wants structural control, not just cash. His plan calls for a bipartisan Independent Commission for Democratic AI, with members nominated by the president and confirmed by the Senate, holding voting shares that could block AI firms from making decisions the commission deems harmful to the public.
“The public has got to have a significant seat at the table to make sure that terrible things do not happen to ordinary people, and that in fact, AI benefits ordinary people, not hurts them”— Bernie Sanders, US Senator (I-Vt.)
That gap — between a 5% passive stake and a 50% tax plus a voting commission — is the negotiation. OpenAI's proposal is described as "conceptual," and Congress would almost certainly need to legislate the mechanism by which the US government could take equity in a private AI company. The Trump administration favors the idea in principle, per the Financial Times, but neither Altman's version nor Sanders' version is anywhere close to law.
The competitive frame is China. Trump and the AI industry have repeatedly argued that heavy-handed regulation would cost the US its lead in the AI race, a talking point that has so far blunted more aggressive proposals in Congress. A 5% stake gives the administration a public-facing win on "sharing the upside" without imposing the kind of tax or governance regime that AI firms view as existential.
There are unresolved practical questions. What class of shares would the US receive, and would they carry voting rights? How would dividends flow to citizens — direct payments, a fund, tax offsets? What happens at IPO or in an acquisition scenario? None of that has been publicly detailed, and OpenAI's corporate structure — a capped-profit entity under a nonprofit parent — complicates any straightforward equity grant. Sanders could not be reached for comment on the 5% figure.
For OpenAI, the offer is cheaper than it looks. A 5% dilution in exchange for political cover on data-center siting, export policy, and any future antitrust posture is a favorable trade if it lands. It also positions Altman as the AI CEO most willing to negotiate with Washington, a contrast Google and Meta have not chosen to draw. If Sanders holds the line and Congress has to pass anything, the final number will not be 5% — but 5% is a strong opening bid, and it puts every other frontier lab on the defensive.
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