OpenAI proposes a 5% equity stake to the Trump administration; Altman urges AI companies to follow suit.

ME AI message: OpenAI has discussed offering 5% of its shares to the U.S. government. The $852 billion AI startup is seeking financial support from the Trump administration to overcome political obstacles. According to two informed sources, Sam Altman told senior government officials that allowing the public to hold a financial stake in the company is the best way to share the benefits of AI development, and proposed this 5% equity stake during early discussions with the government. Under the proposed arrangement, other U.S.-based AI companies would also offer similar equity stakes, though it remains unclear whether other labs are willing to do so. Transferring ownership stakes to the government helps build positive relations while signaling an effort to address political backlash by sharing the wealth generated by AI. The American public and policymakers are increasingly concerned about the construction of large data centers and AI’s impact on employment and cybersecurity, making the regulatory environment for AI labs in Washington more challenging. Sam Altman and other OpenAI executives have suggested that every leading U.S. AI developer should allocate 5% of its equity to an entity similar to the Alaska Permanent Fund—a sovereign wealth fund that invests state oil revenues in stocks and distributes dividends to state residents. Companies that could be included are Anthropic, as well as Google and Meta, but it is unclear whether any of these groups would agree to OpenAI’s proposal. Informed sources say that “conceptual” negotiations between the government and OpenAI are still in early stages, and any agreement would likely require congressional legislation to implement. However, these discussions reveal a potential mechanism for distributing the financial gains generated by this technology. (Source: BlockBeats)