President Donald Trump announced on Friday that he has engaged in discussions with artificial intelligence companies regarding agreements designed to ensure "the American people can benefit from the success of AI."
While Trump did not specify any particular companies in his remarks, OpenAI emerges as a probable candidate, especially following a CNBC report indicating that the Trump administration has indeed been exploring an equity stake with the prominent AI firm.
CNBC further detailed that a portion of this equity could be allocated to seed a "Public Wealth Fund," an initiative recently put forth by OpenAI. As outlined by the company, proceeds from this fund "could be distributed directly to citizens, allowing more people to participate directly in the upside of AI-driven growth, regardless of their starting wealth or access to capital."
According to Bloomberg, when reporters aboard Air Force One questioned Trump about this concept, he affirmed that he has been conversing with AI executives about "concepts where pieces could be given to the American public, where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies."
Bloomberg also reports that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been actively discussing the idea of a government stake in major AI companies since early 2025.
This approach appears consistent with President Trump's broader interest in government ownership within for-profit sectors, notably evidenced by the government's acquisition of a 10% stake in the struggling chipmaker Intel last year.
The idea has also garnered attention from the political left, with Senator Bernie Sanders recently proposing a one-time, 50% tax, payable in the form of stock, for leading AI companies such as OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI (which is part of SpaceX).
Highlighting the potential for these businesses to go public this year, Sanders argued that this tax would "give the public a direct role in determining the future of this technology" and "guarantee that the trillions of dollars potentially generated by A.I. are used to improve the lives of all of us."
David Sacks, an investor who recently stepped down from his role as Trump’s AI and crypto czar, posted that he understands why Sanders’ idea resonates, "including with many on the right," but cautioned that it would actually "accelerate the corporate-government fusion we’re already sliding toward."
Elsewhere on social media, former Microsoft employee Dare Obasanjo suggested that "The groundwork is already being laid for a government bailout of OpenAI."
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