Sam Altman has reportedly engaged in discussions with the US government to navigate political obstacles for OpenAI. According to the Financial Times, Altman has proposed granting the government a five percent stake in OpenAI as a means to share the benefits of the AI boom with the public. This proposal would also extend to other major AI companies, including Google, Anthropic, xAI, and Meta, requiring them to agree to similar terms.
AI companies like Anthropic and OpenAI have faced challenges from the government in releasing their latest AI models. Anthropic was compelled to block access to its Mythos and Fable cybersecurity models following an order from the Trump administration, regaining access only recently. Concurrently, OpenAI had to provide a limited preview of its GPT-5.6 model exclusively to government-approved partners as mandated by the administration.
In June, former President Trump signed a scaled-back executive order that requires AI companies to submit their most powerful models for voluntary government review 30 days before public release. There is growing pressure from politicians, including Trump’s allies, and organizations like the UN for more stringent AI regulations.
The Financial Times highlighted a precedent where a similar arrangement benefited Intel when the Trump administration acquired a ten percent stake in the company, which reportedly led to a significant increase in its valuation. Altman and other OpenAI executives have suggested that leading AI developers could also offer a five percent equity stake to sovereign funds, such as the Alaska Permanent Fund, which distributes dividends to residents.
Discussions between OpenAI and the US government are still in the early stages. Any agreement would require Congressional approval before moving forward.
