OpenAI proposes 5% stake to Trump administration to ease Washington pressure: report [View all]

[mahatmakanejeeves]

Source: CNBC

OpenAI proposes 5% stake to Trump administration to ease Washington pressure: report

Published Thu, Jul 2 2026 12:41 AM EDT Updated 18 Min Ago

Anniek Bao
@in/anniek-bao-460a48107/
@anniekbyx

Key Points
* OpenAI proposes handing the U.S. government a 5% stake in the company, according to a report in the Financial Times.
* The potential holding would be worth roughly $42.6 billion at the artificial intelligence startup’s recent $852 billion valuation.
* OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly argued the move was the best way to share the upside of AI with the public.


CEO of OpenAI Sam Altman (L) and U.S. President Donald Trump attend a working lunch with G7 leaders, G7 outreach partners, and global tech CEOs on innovation and AI, during the G7 Summit on June 17, 2026 in Evian-les-Bains, France.
Anna Moneymaker | Getty Images

OpenAI has proposed handing the U.S. government a 5% stake in the company, the Financial Times reported Thursday, as the artificial intelligence startup seeks to defuse mounting political pressure in Washington. ... A 5% holding would be worth roughly $42.6 billion, after the AI fab closed a record-breaking funding round in March at a post-money valuation of $852 billion.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman argued that giving the public a financial interest in the company is the best way to share the upside of AI, the FT reported, citing two people familiar with the talks. Altman suggested a stake of that size in early conversations with the Trump administration, according to the report. ... It is not clear whether the administration intends to pursue the stake.

The proposed arrangement envisions other U.S. AI companies ceding similar stakes to the government through a sovereign wealth fund vehicle, the FT said. Anthropic, Google and Meta were named in the report as potentially participating in the program, although it is not clear whether any of these groups would agree with OpenAI’s proposal.

The White House, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta did not immediately respond to CNBC’s requests for comments.

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Read more: https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/02/openai-proposes-us-government-own-5percent-stake-to-address-political-blowback.html