Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, is in discussions with the US government to address political challenges involving the company’s future. The Financial Times reports that Altman has proposed offering the government a five percent equity stake in OpenAI. This proposal would also extend to other leading AI companies, including Google, Anthropic, xAI, and Meta, all of which would need to agree to a similar arrangement.
Recent restrictions from the US government have affected AI firms like Anthropic and OpenAI, impacting the release of their models. Anthropic was compelled to block access to its Mythos and Fable cybersecurity models under orders from the Trump administration. Recently, Anthropic received permission to restore user access. Concurrently, OpenAI released a limited preview of its GPT-5.6 model to approved government partners at the administration’s request.
In June, President Trump signed an executive order mandating AI companies to submit their most potent models for a voluntary government review at least 30 days prior to their public availability. This has prompted calls for stricter AI regulations from politicians and organizations, including allies of Trump and the UN.
The Times highlighted a precedent where partial government ownership proved beneficial. President Trump had once pressured Intel’s CEO to resign until the administration took a 10 percent ownership stake in the company. Trump claimed this stake has since appreciated in value significantly.
Altman has discussed the idea of major AI developers providing a five percent equity to sovereign wealth funds, such as the Alaska Permanent Fund. Discussions between OpenAI and the government remain in early stages and would require Congressional approval for any finalized agreement.
