OpenAI, the company behind ChatGPT, is weighing whether to give the US government a 5 percent equity stake worth roughly $43 billion as it works to strengthen ties with the Trump administration ahead of a stock market listing that could value the firm at $1 trillion. Sam Altman, OpenAI's chief executive, raised the offer in recent talks with the White House, according to reporting from the Financial Times.
At a Glance
- OpenAI is currently valued at $852 billion, with a target IPO valuation of $1 trillion
- A 5 percent government stake would be worth about $43 billion at today's valuation
- President Trump has floated similar equity arrangements with Anthropic and Google
- The US government's 10 percent stake in Intel, once worth $9 billion, has grown to more than $60 billion
- Vice President JD Vance has suggested any AI stakes be held in a sovereign wealth fund
Why the Government Wants In on OpenAI
Trump has spoken openly about wanting taxpayers to share in the AI boom, calling the idea of public stakes in companies like OpenAI a