Sam Altman is offering the US government a 5% stake in OpenAI, the Financial Times reported Thursday, in a bid to defuse mounting political pressure that threatens the company ahead of its planned IPO. A 5% holding would be worth roughly $42.6 billion, based on OpenAI's $852 billion valuation from its record-breaking March funding round, CNBC reported.
The proposal goes beyond OpenAI alone. Altman has suggested that other leading US AI developers including Anthropic, Google, and Meta also cede 5% stakes to Washington through a sovereign wealth fund vehicle, according to the FT's sources.
It remains unclear whether any of those companies would agree. The offer is a defensive play. Washington has been tightening its grip on AI companies.
Last month, the government forced Anthropic to suspend access to its most advanced Mythos and Fable models over export control concerns. A Trump administration request also prompted OpenAI to delay the wide release of GPT-5.6 last week, Bloomberg reported.
Altman has discussed the proposed stake directly with President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, the FT said, citing two people familiar with the talks. The discussions are still "conceptual" and in early stages, and any deal could require an act of Congress.
The structure OpenAI envisions is modeled on the Alaska Permanent Fund, a sovereign wealth fund established in 1976 that invests oil revenue and pays annual dividends to state residents. Altman and other OpenAI executives have suggested the biggest US AI developers each contribute 5% of their equity to a similar vehicle.
Trump has signaled openness to the idea. Last month, he told reporters he was hearing "concepts where pieces could be given to the American public, where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies," calling the idea "interesting."
The 5% offer is far smaller than what some in Washington are demanding. Senator Bernie Sanders has pushed for a one-time 50% tax on the shares of OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI, dismissing Altman's proposal as a watered-down alternative to real public ownership.
Altman first pitched the concept to the Trump administration in early 2025, and talks have continued for more than a year, Euronews reported. The timing is critical: both OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing to list on US stock markets, with some investors believing the companies could be valued at more than $1 trillion.
Forrester analyst Indranil Bandyopadhyay said a pre-IPO government stake could ease investor concerns about regulatory risk in the US, but warned it may trigger similar demands from other countries. "Expect other jurisdictions to demand analogous arrangements as a condition of market access," he said. The US government already holds stakes in American companies through a broader push to secure critical supply chains.
Last year, it took roughly 10% of Intel and 15% of MP Materials. An OpenAI stake would add the most valuable private AI company to that list.
