Trump administration and OpenAI explore possible government stake in AI firms

Senior White House officials and major AI companies, including OpenAI, have held preliminary talks about the U.S. government acquiring equity and potentially purchasing stakes in AI firms, according to a NOTUS report.

The discussions between the Trump admin and these AI firms could reshape how Americans share in AI’s financial upside in the long term as OpenAI and Anthropic both move toward public listings.

Early conversations and OpenAI’s involvement

The early conversations have revolved around multiple models and strategies to bring the U.S. government to the forefront of AI investment financially. One version of the proposal could have AI companies voluntarily hand over shares to the federal government rather than sell them through a traditional purchase.

Proceeds from these holdings in AI firms like OpenAI could be of direct benefit to citizens, with early reports citing that an option under consideration is to channel investment returns into dividend payments distributed to every American household.

The conversations are still in the early stages, however, with unclear details and no certain timeline for implementation.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been a major driving force behind the concept, raising the idea in a direct conversation with President Donald Trump in 2025, according to the NOTUS report.

Altman has now revisited the proposal with Washington’s senior officials in recent weeks, framing the potential equity purchase as a mechanism to spread AI’s economic gains further with the public.

The timing also coincides with confirmed reports stating that OpenAI is currently preparing to confidentially file for an IPO in the very near future.

Trump administration and AI interest

The possibility of the Trump administration purchasing stakes in AI firms fits a pattern of the government’s interest in embedding itself in the AI industry’s growth. President Trump had, on Tuesday, signed an executive order encouraging leading AI developers to voluntarily submit their most powerful models for government cybersecurity testing before public release.

It is also worth noting that there was a fallout between Anthropic, the company behind the Claude AI assistant, and the U.S. government earlier in the year on matters of AI security in government use. Unlike OpenAI, Anthropic is not engaged in similar discussions with the administration, according to the NOTUS report. The company also filed confidentially for its own U.S. IPO on Monday, June 2.

The Trump admin also moved into quantum computing in May, purchasing equity worth about $2 billion across nine firms in the sector. A government stake in AI companies would extend that playbook into a far larger market, and one on a major rise globally.