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US officials explore government stakes in AI companies
🇸🇬 Singapore /Technology

US officials explore government stakes in AI companies

From CNA · () English

Translated from English, summarized and contextualized by DistantNews.

At a glance

News Named sources Context piece
  • Senior U.S. officials have held preliminary discussions with major AI companies about the government potentially acquiring stakes in their firms.
  • The discussions, which are ongoing, reportedly focus on companies voluntarily ceding shares, with potential returns directed to public purposes like dividends for American households.
  • The report emerges as companies like OpenAI and Anthropic prepare for significant initial public offerings, with OpenAI's CEO having previously discussed similar concepts with government officials.

Senior U.S. officials have engaged in preliminary discussions with leading artificial intelligence companies regarding the possibility of the government taking equity stakes in these firms, according to a report by digital news outlet NOTUS.

The ongoing planning discussions have reportedly centered on the idea of these companies voluntarily relinquishing shares to the government. The potential returns from such investments could then be allocated for public benefit, such as distributing dividend payments to all American households. Reuters has not yet independently confirmed the report.

The returns on the investment could then be directed to public purposes, such as distributing a dividend payment to all American households.

— NOTUS report (citing three people familiar with the matter)This describes the potential use of government-acquired shares in AI companies.

This development comes as prominent AI firms, including OpenAI and Anthropic, are reportedly preparing for substantial initial public offerings. OpenAI has been reported to be confidentially filing for an IPO, while Anthropic, the creator of the AI model Claude, also confidentially filed for a U.S. IPO earlier this week.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has discussed the idea with government officials since President Donald Trump began his second term.

— NOTUS reportThis highlights the history of discussions between OpenAI's CEO and government officials regarding AI company equity.

According to the NOTUS report, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has discussed similar concepts with government officials since the beginning of President Donald Trump's second term in 2025. Altman reportedly first pitched the idea directly to Trump and has since engaged with senior administration officials on ways to distribute the economic benefits of AI more broadly. The report also noted that Altman had previously discussed federal loan guarantees for U.S. chip factories with the government but not for data centers. Anthropic has reportedly stated it is not engaged in similar equity discussions with the administration.

Both OpenAI and Anthropic, along with the White House, did not immediately respond to requests for comment from Reuters. The discussions follow President Trump's recent executive order requiring leading AI developers to voluntarily submit their most capable models for government cybersecurity testing before public release. The administration also recently announced plans to take $2 billion in equity stakes across nine quantum-computing firms.

Altman first pitched the concept directly to Trump in a conversation in 2025, and has discussed it again with senior administration officials in recent weeks as a way to more broadly distribute the economic benefits of AI to the public.

— NOTUS reportThis details Sam Altman's engagement with government officials on the idea of distributing AI's economic benefits.
DistantNews Editorial

Originally published by CNA in English. Translated, summarized, and contextualized by our editorial team with added local perspective. Read our editorial standards.

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