Trump Eyes Big AI Stake: OpenAI Talks on Gov't Ownership

The U.S. government is considering taking a stake in AI companies. Officials have reportedly held talks with OpenAI about this proposal. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman discussed the idea with senior officials in the Trump administration on more than one occasion during the president's second term. The plan involves AI firms voluntarily giving some shares to the government. This aims to spread the economic benefits of AI more broadly to the public. What's interesting is that Trump and his administration have been more involved in businesses than past leaders. For example, the U.S. government took a 10% stake in Intel last year. These discussions come as OpenAI and Anthropic prepare for what could be some of the largest initial public offerings in history. Anthropic was last valued at $965 billion, and OpenAI at $852 billion. Both are expected to file IPO paperwork soon. This initiative could significantly change how AI companies are funded and how their economic benefits are shared with the public.