The US government may be on track to acquire an ownership stake in OpenAI. According to a report by Engadget, senior US officials have held discussions with AI companies about potentially acquiring equity in their firms, with talks between the Trump administration and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman dating back to 2025.
The story was first reported by NOTUS and later confirmed by CNBC, which said Altman himself originally proposed the idea. The discussions have moved toward a potential arrangement in which OpenAI would voluntarily offer some equity to the US government.
Such a deal would align with a concept OpenAI has been promoting publicly. In April, the company published an industrial policy outline that proposed a Public Wealth Fund, which it described as a mechanism that would provide every citizen with a stake in AI-driven economic growth. A voluntary equity transfer to the government could function as a version of that idea.
No official terms have been finalized. It remains unknown how large a stake the Trump administration would seek. For comparison, the US government previously secured a 10 percent stake in Intel through a nearly $9 billion investment.
The talks are continuing. Altman recently met with Washington policymakers to discuss AI regulation. Earlier this week, the Trump administration signed an executive order giving the US government oversight authority over AI models before they are released to the public. OpenAI responded by saying it would comply with the order and allow government regulators to review its latest models before public access is granted.
The potential OpenAI deal comes as the administration has shown increasing interest in shaping the direction of the domestic AI industry through direct government involvement rather than traditional regulatory channels alone.
