OpenAI in talks to give U.S. government 5% stake - report

Investing.com -- OpenAI has proposed giving the U.S. government a 5% stake in the company, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, as the artificial intelligence company seeks to ease political pressure from Washington.

OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman suggested a stake of that size in early conversations with the Trump administration, the FT said, citing two people familiar with the talks.

Altman has argued that giving the public a financial stake in the company is the best way to share the upside of artificial intelligence.

The proposed arrangement would involve other U.S. AI companies handing over a similar stake, although it is not clear if those companies would be willing to do so, the FT said. It is not clear whether the Trump administration intends to pursue the stake.

Giving the U.S. government an ownership stake could help OpenAI secure good relations with Washington and would mark an attempt to address political backlash by sharing wealth generated by the technology with the public.

Separately, the U.S. government is in advanced talks with AI companies to create voluntary standards for the release of new models, following a series of interventions from the Trump administration in June, the FT said, citing people familiar with the talks.

The standards, which could be announced as soon as next week, would set benchmarks for models with advanced cyber capabilities and establish release timelines to streamline future launches.

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