OpenAI in Preliminary Talks to Offer 5% Stake to US Government

California. US AI company OpenAI is in preliminary discussions about a proposal to give a 5 percent stake in the company to the administration led by US President Donald Trump. According to international media outlet Financial Times, under the proposal, which is in its early stages, discussions are also underway about the possibility of other US artificial intelligence (AI) companies giving similar stakes to the government.

According to the news, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has argued that if such an arrangement is made, the economic benefits from AI will reach the general public. However, OpenAI has not commented on this, nor has the White House responded. Based on the latest investment round in March, OpenAI's valuation reached 852 billion US dollars. Accordingly, a 5 percent stake in the company would be worth approximately 42.6 billion dollars.

As AI technology can have a wide-ranging impact on employment, the economy, and national security, the idea that the general public should also have access to the wealth generated from it is growing. Last month, Trump had stated that he planned to meet with top executives of AI companies to discuss giving the government a stake in the companies. He had informed that various options for partnership through which the government can directly benefit from the growth of the AI industry are being considered.

In an interview with CNBC on Thursday, Trump commented that it would be a very American-style move for the federal government to take a stake in private companies. He also gave the example of chip manufacturer Intel's improved condition after the government's investment. Meanwhile, it has been reported that the development of new AI models by both OpenAI and Anthropic has been delayed due to government review and regulatory oversight. Anthropic has stated that the US government has removed export controls on its state-of-the-art AI model.