OpenAI reportedly proposes giving the US government a 5% equity stake

OpenAI has reportedly proposed giving the US government a roughly 5% equity stake in the company, a holding worth about $42.6 billion, according to reporting published July 2, 2026. The figure is drawn from OpenAI’s post-money valuation of roughly $852 billion, set in its record funding round that closed in March 2026.

The pitch, if real, would hand Washington one of the largest single stakes in a private AI company and blur the line between regulator and investor. It comes as OpenAI faces political pressure over its scale, its energy demands and its influence in Washington.

CEO Sam Altman reportedly floated the idea in early discussions with the Trump administration as part of a broader plan under which the government would hold a 5% stake in each leading US AI developer, pooled through a government investment vehicle modeled on Alaska’s Permanent Fund. That fund, established in 1976, was valued at about $91.2 billion as of May 31, 2026.

Altman reportedly raised the concept with President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and separately with Senator Bernie Sanders. The talks are described as conceptual and early-stage, with no agreement reached; any deal would require Congressional approval.

The idea is not entirely new for the company. In April 2026, OpenAI published its own policy proposal for a “Public Wealth Fund” that would give Americans automatic stakes in AI companies, an argument the reported government-stake plan would extend from citizens to the state itself.

OpenAI has not confirmed the specific 5% proposal, and no first-party statement describing the talks exists. The reporting rests on unnamed people familiar with the discussions, and the scope, structure and price of any stake remain unsettled. A government equity position would also raise questions about conflicts of interest at a company OpenAI’s own regulators are actively scrutinizing.

Whether the concept survives contact with Congress, or fades as a trial balloon, will signal how far the administration is willing to go in tying the state’s balance sheet to the AI industry.