ChatGPT

OpenAI has opened discussions about handing the U.S. government a 5% ownership stake in the ChatGPT maker, a proposal that would be worth roughly $42.6 billion at the company’s most recent $852 billion valuation — and one that fits an increasingly common pattern of the Trump administration taking direct equity positions in strategically important American companies. Altman’s Pitch: An “Alaska Fund” for AI CEO Sam Altman has argued that broad public ownership is the best way to make sure ordinary Americans benefit from the enormous wealth AI is expected to generate. Under the proposal, OpenAI and other leading AI developers — potentially including Google, Meta, and Anthropic — would each contribute roughly 5% of their equity to a government-backed investment vehicle modeled after the Alaska Permanent Fund, the sovereign wealth fund that invests the state’s oil revenue and pays dividends to residents. Altman has reportedly been floating the idea with senior administration officials, including Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, since early in Trump’s second term, and has ramped up those conversations in recent weeks. Part of a Bigger Pattern The proposal fits a broader shift in how the administration approaches industrial policy — favoring direct equity stakes over traditional subsidies or tax breaks. The government previously took a roughly 10% stake in Intel in exchange for an $8.9 billion investment, along with stakes in MP Materials and other strategically important firms. For OpenAI, giving Washington a seat at the table could also help ease growing political scrutiny of the AI industry as the company eyes a potential IPO. Not Without Skeptics Any formal arrangement would likely require an act of Congress, and the talks remain described as early and conceptual. Some lawmakers on the left have pushed even further in the other direction — Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed a one-time 50% tax on major AI companies’ stock to fund a public sovereign wealth fund — while others have raised questions about what kind of influence a government equity stake might give Washington over future AI model releases and safety decisions. Supporters of Altman’s approach argue it’s a pragmatic way to ensure the public captures some of AI’s economic upside without heavy-handed new regulation, while critics on both sides continue debating whether direct government ownership in leading tech companies is the right model going forward. This story is developing.