Quick overview

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OpenAI began preliminary talks, offering the US government a 5 percent stake in the ChatGPT developer. According to the FT, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and other executives suggested that action as part of a larger deal in which Washington would own five percent of each of the top US AI developers.

This could include the listed industry leaders Google and Meta Platforms Inc., as well as Anthropic PBC. The newspaper stated that it is unclear if those other companies would accept the proposal.

Altman had discussed government investments in significant AI companies with the Trump administration as early as 2025.  The CEO is claiming that the best way to share profits from the AI boom is to give the public a piece of his business. His suggestion comes at a time when the Trump administration is putting increasing pressure on significant US AI companies.

The government ordered Anthropic to restrict access for foreign nationals, citing national security concerns. As a result, the company suspended its most capable models. Washington lifted restrictions on Anthropic’s Fable 5 model this week, allowing it to be distributed more widely after the startup addressed the safety concerns raised by the Trump administration. Additionally, there are increasing calls for governments and businesses worldwide to address the widening gap between the rich and the poor as a result of a historic AI boom.

While more conventional industries lag behind stock market rallies, the massive construction of data centers across the globe is driving up profits and share prices of chipmakers and computing providers. As concerns about AI replacing jobs grow, calls for profit-sharing have intensified in recent months.

President Donald Trump has expressed interest in the US government owning equity stakes in leading AI companies through a government-run wealth fund that would distribute a portion of the profits to the general public. He stated that he had talked about that concept with companies, but he gave no specifics. It’s still unclear how the government would buy stock in AI initiatives. Since Trump’s return to office, the administration has invested in about a dozen companies, including several in the crucial minerals industry, and it has pledged to buy up to 10% of chipmaker Intel Corp.