Trump administration weighs equity stake in OpenAI

Donald Trump has discussed deals that would give the US government an equity stake in leading AI companies, with CNBC reporting talks specifically about OpenAI. According to TechCrunch, the idea is being framed as a way for “the American people” to share in AI’s upside, including through a proposed “Public Wealth Fund” that OpenAI has suggested could distribute proceeds directly to citizens.

The concept sits awkwardly between industrial policy and venture capital. An equity stake is not a regulation or a grant; it is a claim on future profits, and it changes how companies behave once their largest counterparty is also a shareholder. If the same administration that sets export controls, procurement rules, and antitrust priorities also holds stock, every policy decision becomes a balance-sheet event. TechCrunch notes that Trump has shown interest in government ownership before, including backing a government stake in Intel, and that OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman has been discussing the idea of a government stake in major AI companies since early 2025.

The pitch also reveals how quickly AI has moved from a software market into a strategic asset class. OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI are all described as potential IPO candidates this year, which makes “public participation” a political message as much as a financial one. Senator Bernie Sanders has proposed a one-time tax payable in stock on companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, while investor David Sacks, a former Trump AI and crypto czar, is quoted warning that such plans could accelerate a tighter corporate-government relationship. Former Microsoft employee Dare Obasanjo suggested on social media that the groundwork may be forming for a bailout of OpenAI, a suspicion that tends to follow any proposal where the state takes a stake in a fast-growing company.

What remains unclear is the mechanism: whether a stake would be purchased, demanded as a condition for regulatory or procurement relief, or packaged as part of a broader fund. Each route creates a different set of winners and liabilities, and the losses would be as public as the gains. For now, the reporting amounts to discussions and proposals rather than a signed term sheet.

Trump’s comments, as quoted by Bloomberg and relayed by TechCrunch, were made on Air Force One, where he said he had been talking to AI executives about ways to give pieces to the public so they can be “partners with companies.” The only company named in the reporting is OpenAI, and the only asset on the table so far is the idea itself.