OpenAI wants a seat at the table. Or rather. It wants Washington to hold the table.
The ChatGPT maker offered the US government 5% ownership, the Financial Times reported Thursday. The heat is on in DC. Politicians are restless. This is Altman’s way of cooling it down.
5%.
It’s worth roughly $42.6 billion. €37.4 billion. A staggering amount even for a cash-flushed tech giant. The math comes from last March. Back when investors slapped an $852 billion valuation on the firm during its latest fundraising round. That price tag is old news now. Still. It’s the anchor for this offer.
But here is the kicker.
Sam Altman isn’t just offering a cut of OpenAI. He wants Anthropic, Google, and Meta to do the same. 5% each. A government-owned sliver of the entire American AI industry. Effectively. A national trust for artificial intelligence.
Nobody knows if they’ll bite.
It feels familiar, this idea. Altman has been pitching a “public wealth fund” for months. A pool of money investing in AI, then paying dividends directly to you and me. Real cash in your pocket. Inspired by Alaska’s oil checks. Remember those? State oil revenue shared with residents annually. A little extra because you live there. Now for bits and bytes.
Rivals are whispering similar tunes. Anthropic floated a “digital dividend.” Funded by taxing the AI sector directly.
The meetings have started. Altman talked to Donald Trump. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent. The heavy hitters. He even reached out to Senator Bernie Sanders.
Sanders thinks it’s not enough.
Not close.
He wants a 50% one-off tax on the shares of OpenAI and its rivals. xAI included. To Sanders, Altman’s 5% offer is weak tea. A watered-down compromise compared to real public ownership. Why share crumbs when you could take half?
Trump acknowledged the talks. Did not confirm an agreement. The usual silence.
Altman started pushing this stake in early 2025. Behind closed doors for over a year now. Rumbling quietly.
Who gets the first dividend check?
