U.S. reporting on June 6 cited three people with knowledge saying senior U.S.
officials have held preliminary talks with large U.S. AI companies about the
government taking equity stakes. Sources said Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, has
regularly discussed the idea with senior officials since President Trump's
second term began; he first raised the concept to Trump in early 2025 and has
recently revisited it as a way to broaden public distribution of AI-related
economic gains. Discussions have centered on firms voluntarily transferring
shares to the government, with investment returns that could be used for public
purposes; the proposal is still being developed and specifics remain undecided.
