Preliminary talks between senior U.S. officials and major artificial intelligence companies have touched on the possibility of the federal government taking equity stakes in those firms, according to Notus.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first pitched the idea directly to President Donald Trump early in his term
Brendan Smialowski / AFP via Getty Images
Preliminary talks between senior U.S. officials and major artificial intelligence companies have touched on the possibility of the federal government taking equity stakes in those firms, according to Notus.
One approach under consideration would have the companies hand over shares to the government on a voluntary basis. Any earnings generated from those holdings could be channeled toward broad public benefit — including the possibility of sending dividend payments directly to American households.
Sam Altman brought the idea to Trump personally in a conversation early in 2025 and has since revisited it in talks with top administration figures, framing equity sharing as a mechanism to distribute AI's financial rewards more widely across the public. One specific vehicle Altman has referenced is the Trump accounts program — child-oriented IRAs that can be opened by parents at tax time — as a possible model, The Wall Street Journal reported.
Anthropic is not engaged in conversations with the administration about providing equity to the government.
How any AI company would legally structure such a transfer of ownership to the government has not been resolved and may prove to be a significant stumbling block. Sources warned that the discussions could still fall apart without producing any agreement. The White House declined to comment.
The discussions come as both OpenAI and Anthropic move toward what are expected to be among the largest public listings in history. OpenAI is preparing to file confidentially for an IPO with Goldman Sachs $GS and Morgan Stanley $MS among the banks working on the deal, targeting a September debut. Anthropic submitted a confidential IPO prospectus to the Securities and Exchange Commission earlier this week, following a fundraising round that placed its valuation at $965 billion.
In April, OpenAI proposed creating a "Public Wealth Fund" that would invest in AI companies and distribute financial gains to citizens, including those not invested in financial markets. An OpenAI spokeswoman pointed to that paper when asked for comment.
Since returning to office, Trump has moved to take government ownership positions in private companies, counting at least 10 such deals, among them a stake in semiconductor manufacturer Intel $INTC. Trump has said publicly he hopes to pursue more such deals.
Critics across the political spectrum have raised concerns. Nat Purser of Public Knowledge, who focuses on AI policy advocacy, raised a conflict-of-interest concern, warning against any arrangement that leaves the government "less willing to impose, or enforce, safety rules because doing so could reduce the value of its own investment." At the Cato Institute, technology policy fellow Jennifer Huddleston said that government equity stakes in private AI firms threaten to undermine "traditional principles when it comes to private enterprise and the free market."
On a separate track, Sen. Bernie Sanders has pushed for mandatory 50% government ownership of AI firms, with those proceeds flowing into a sovereign wealth fund — a position he reiterated around the time of his Wednesday meeting with Altman.
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