OpenAI floats 5% government stake to ease AI regulation tensions
Sam Altman proposes $42.6B stake in OpenAI for Trump administration to avoid 'onerous regulation'.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has floated an unprecedented proposal to give the US government a 5% ownership stake in the company, according to the Financial Times. The move is designed to ease tensions with the Trump administration and blunt public backlash against AI, while avoiding what Altman described as 'onerous regulation.' Based on OpenAI's latest funding round valuing the company at $852 billion, that stake would be worth roughly $42.6 billion. Altman reportedly first pitched the idea to Trump early last year and suggested the 5% figure himself. The discussions remain in early stages and would involve other US AI companies offering similar stakes, though it's unclear if they would agree.
The proposal comes amid an unusually interventionist approach to AI by the Trump administration, which has repeatedly targeted one of OpenAI's main competitors, Anthropic. Earlier this year, the Pentagon designated Anthropic a supply chain risk, and last month export controls forced the company to withdraw its latest models from the market — igniting uncertainty about US AI competitiveness globally. The government has already taken a 10% stake in Intel and reportedly demanded Nvidia and AMD give the federal government a 15% cut of their revenue from AI chip sales to China. Senator Bernie Sanders has gone further, arguing AI is a public resource and proposing a one-time 50% tax on AI companies' stock value to establish a sovereign wealth fund.
- OpenAI proposed a 5% government ownership stake worth $42.6B based on its $852B valuation to avoid regulation.
- The Trump administration has already taken a 10% stake in Intel and demanded 15% of Nvidia/AMD China chip revenues.
- Competitor Anthropic faced Pentagon supply chain risk designation and export controls, fueling industry uncertainty.
Why It Matters
A government equity stake in AI companies could reshape regulatory dynamics, set a precedent for wealth redistribution, and alter competitive landscapes.