OpenAI in talks to hand 5% stake to US government, an idea pushed by Altman

OpenAI is in early talks to transfer a 5% stake in the company to the US government, the Financial Times reported on July 2, 2026, citing two anonymous sources familiar with the discussions.

Why is OpenAI doing this?

According to CEO Sam Altman, giving American society a direct financial stake in the company is the best way to distribute the benefits of artificial intelligence. Notably, the initiative comes from the company itself, not from a regulator.

The talks are unfolding amid a broad push by the AI industry to repair relations with the administration of Donald Trump. Since he took office, major tech companies have consistently looked for ways to ease political tension and secure a predictable regulatory environment, notably through investment commitments and public statements in support of American chip manufacturing.

Altman has proposed a similar step to other players in the AI market: according to the FT, the idea is to set an industry precedent rather than make a solo gesture by OpenAI.

What does 5% of the shares mean?

Five percent is a significant stake in a company that has raised private capital aggressively over the past two years. In October 2024, OpenAI closed a $6.6 billion round at a valuation of about $157 billion; by mid-2026, public estimates put the figure considerably higher. The FT material did not give the exact value of the stake for the government: the talks are at an early stage and the terms are not defined.

The unfinished corporate restructuring adds further complexity: OpenAI is moving from a nonprofit structure to a capped-profit corporation. The outcome of that process will also determine what share the state would get and in what legal sense.

Key facts from the available sources:

• The stake under discussion is 5% of OpenAI
• Talks are at an early stage, and the sources are anonymous
• The initiator is Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI
• Altman is proposing a similar step to other AI companies
• Context: the industry's effort to smooth relations with the Trump administration

AI companies and White House policy

In 2025–2026, relations between leading AI developers and the US government became one of the industry's central storylines. The Trump administration is actively promoting American AI competitiveness, notably through executive orders on system safety and access to computing power.

In response, major tech companies are publicly demonstrating loyalty: they take part in government AI projects, announce investments in American infrastructure and meet with officials. Handing a share of equity to the government, if the deal goes through, would take this dialogue to a fundamentally new level: from declarations to a direct financial interest of the state in the company's success.

"Giving the American public a financial stake in the company is the best way to share the benefits of AI,"

Altman argues, according to the Financial Times' sources.

What this means

If the talks end in a deal, it would set an unprecedented precedent: a leading private AI company voluntarily handing the state a significant stake, not through nationalization or crisis aid, but as a strategic political move. This could trigger a chain reaction across the industry and substantially change the nature of the dialogue between tech business and government in the US.