According to NOTUS and CNBC, the Trump administration is discussing the possibility of acquiring a stake in OpenAI. Sources say senior U.S. officials have held talks with AI companies about potential government equity participation, and discussions with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly began as early as 2025.
CNBC reports that the idea may have originated with Altman himself. The proposal involves OpenAI voluntarily offering a portion of its shares to the U.S. government. This move would bring the company closer to the concept of a Public Wealth Fund, which OpenAI has previously described as a mechanism to give citizens a share in the economic growth driven by artificial intelligence.
The terms of any potential deal have not been finalized. It remains unclear what stake the U.S. government might receive, whether it would involve a direct cash investment, an exchange for infrastructure support, or some other form of participation. There is already a precedent: the U.S. government previously received around 10% of Intel after investing nearly $9 billion, so state interest in strategic technology companies is no longer an exception.
These talks come amid heightened oversight of AI developers. According to CNBC, Altman recently met with policymakers in Washington to discuss AI regulation. This week, the Trump administration signed an executive order requiring government oversight of AI models before their public release.
OpenAI has reportedly stated its willingness to comply with the new requirements and to provide regulators access to the latest models before they are released to the public. If the negotiations over a government stake move forward, it could become one of the most notable examples of collaboration between U.S. authorities and the private AI sector—especially in an industry Washington increasingly views as a matter of national competitiveness and security.