OpenAI Proposes 5% Stake to the USA: Public Participation Worth Over 42 Billion Dollars

OpenAI has proposed to the U.S. government to acquire a 5% stake in the company. The rumor, reported by the Financial Times, indicates that the stake would be valued at approximately $42.6 billion, based on the company's valuation of $852 billion reached after the funding round concluded in March. If confirmed, this initiative would mark a new model of collaboration between the public sector and one of the leading players in artificial intelligence. It is worth noting that discussions in this direction were already mentioned back in June.

The goal of the initiative would be twofold. On one hand, OpenAI aims to mitigate the rising political pressure that has developed in Washington over the last few months regarding large AI companies; on the other, the company would like to enable U.S. citizens to directly benefit from the economic growth generated by the sector.

According to sources cited by the British newspaper, Sam Altman outlined the project in early meetings with the Trump administration at the beginning of 2025, arguing that a public stake would represent the most effective way to distribute the economic benefits derived from AI development. However, it is currently unclear whether the White House intends to follow up on the proposal.

According to the Financial Times, the idea behind the operation could take on much larger connotations: it would involve the establishment of a sort of sovereign fund through which other U.S. companies in the sector could also contribute a stake of their ownership. Among the names mentioned are Anthropic, Google, and Meta, although there are no indications that these companies have expressed willingness to join the initiative.

The potential entry of the state into OpenAI's capital would not represent a complete precedent under the current administration. During the second term of President Donald Trump, the federal government indeed made direct investments in several companies considered strategic, including Intel, IBM, and companies active in the fields of quantum computing and critical minerals. The president has also voiced support for the idea of public presence in major AI companies, describing it as an opportunity to make Americans 'partners in this technological revolution.'

At this time, neither OpenAI nor the White House, as well as Anthropic, Google, and Meta, have issued official comments on the rumors reported by the Financial Times.