Woofun AI reports that OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, has discussed granting the US government a 5% equity stake as Washington tightens artificial intelligence oversight. The company introduced this concept during early talks with the Trump administration to navigate a challenging political landscape ahead of a potential public listing, the Financial Times reported on Thursday. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman contends that providing the public with a financial interest is the optimal method to distribute the economic benefits of the surging AI sector. This disclosure follows weeks after OpenAI confidentially filed an S-1 for a US initial public offering, joining Anthropic in preparations for a Wall Street debut this year.

The proposed mechanism would require several leading US AI companies to contribute a 5% equity stake to a public investment vehicle. It remains uncertain whether competitors such as Anthropic, Google, and Meta would endorse this framework. The Financial Times noted that Altman based the proposal on Alaska's Permanent Fund, which invests state oil revenue into stocks and distributes dividends to residents. Under a comparable structure, Americans could directly participate in the economic gains generated by artificial intelligence.

Altman has engaged in discussions with President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent regarding the initiative. He also reportedly consulted Sen. Bernie Sanders, who in June suggested a one-time 50% tax on the stock of the largest AI companies to establish a nearly $7 trillion sovereign wealth fund for Americans.

Woofun AI data shows these negotiations involve high-level officials across the executive and legislative branches. The convergence of these proposals highlights a growing consensus on capturing AI value for public benefit.

Regulatory pressure is intensifying as the White House prepares voluntary standards for frontier AI models following its intervention in recent system rollouts from OpenAI and Anthropic. This guidance is expected to be announced as early as next week, setting security benchmarks, establishing review timelines, and clarifying access rights for advanced models in the US and abroad. The Trump administration reportedly requested a staggered rollout of OpenAI's GPT-5.6 and temporarily imposed export controls on Anthropic's latest models due to cybersecurity concerns before lifting the restrictions.

OpenAI was reached for comment on the reported discussions but had not received a response by the time of publication.