OpenAI has proposed handing the U.S. government a 5% equity stake worth roughly $42.6 billion against its March post-money valuation of $852 billion, according to a Financial Times report citing two people familiar with the talks. The pitch, made by CEO Sam Altman, would extend to peers including Anthropic, Google and Meta Platforms, each contributing an equivalent slice into an Alaska Permanent Fund-style vehicle.

The framing is Altman’s, and it’s doing considerable work. Per the FT, he argued that the structure is the best way to give the American public a financial interest in AI’s upside, echoing an April OpenAI policy paper calling for a “public wealth fund” that would give every citizen a stake in AI-driven economic growth. Altman first floated the concept with the administration in early 2025, and has since engaged directly with President Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, a rare left-right lobbying arc.

The timing isn’t incidental. Six days before the FT report, OpenAI delayed the full public launch of GPT-5.6 at Washington’s request. A voluntary equity offer landing that quickly after a regulatory pause reads less like philanthropy than a peace treaty.

There’s a live template. Last August, the federal government took a 9.9% stake in Intel by converting CHIPS Act grants into $8.9 billion of common stock. OpenAI is proposing something structurally similar without the grants, which is the tell: the company would be paying, in equity, for political cover it can no longer buy any other way.

The FT describes the talks as “conceptual” and early-stage, with any implementation likely requiring an act of Congress. Both OpenAI and Anthropic have confidentially filed for IPOs. A person familiar with the matter told CNBC that Anthropic and the administration haven’t discussed a government stake.

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