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President Donald Trump said on Friday that he\u2019s spoken to AI companies about striking deals \u201cwhere the American people can benefit from the success of AI.\u201d<\/p>\n
Trump does not seem to have mentioned specific companies in his comments, but OpenAI is a likely candidate, especially after CNBC reported that the Trump administration has indeed been discussing an equity stake<\/a> with the AI company.<\/p>\n CNBC said some of that equity could be used to seed a \u201cPublic Wealth Fund\u201d recently proposed by OpenAI<\/a>. As outlined by the company, proceeds from the fund \u201ccould be distributed directly to citizens, allowing more people to participate directly in the upside of AI-driven growth, regardless of their starting wealth or access to capital.\u201d<\/p>\n According to Bloomberg, when reporters on Air Force One asked Trump about the idea<\/a>, he replied that he\u2019s been talking to AI executives about \u201cconcepts where pieces could be given to the American public, where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies.\u201d<\/p>\n Bloomberg also reports that CEO Sam Altman has been discussing the idea of a government stake in major AI companies since early 2025.<\/p>\n This seems to align with Trump\u2019s broader interest in government ownership of for-profit companies \u2014 most notably, with the government taking a 10% stake<\/a> in struggling chipmaker Intel last year.<\/p>\n The idea has also found some traction on the left, with Senator Bernie Sanders this week proposing a one-time, 50% tax<\/a> that companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI (which is part of SpaceX<\/a>) would pay in the form of stock.<\/p>\n With all of those businesses potentially going public this year, Sanders argued this tax would \u201cgive the public a direct role in determining the future of this technology\u201d and \u201cguarantee that the trillions of dollars potentially generated by A.I. are used to improve the lives of all of us.\u201d<\/p>\n David Sacks, an investor who recently stepped down from his role as Trump\u2019s AI and crypto czar<\/a>, posted that he can see why Sanders\u2019 idea resonates<\/a>, \u201cincluding with many on the right,\u201d but warned it would actually \u201caccelerate the corporate-government fusion we\u2019re already sliding toward.\u201d<\/p>\n Elsewhere on social media, former Microsoft employee Dare Obasanjo suggested<\/a>, \u201cThe groundwork is already being laid for a government bailout of OpenAI.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission<\/a>. This doesn\u2019t affect our editorial independence.<\/em><\/p>\n