OpenAI is reportedly in early talks to hand the US government a 5 per cent equity stake, an idea Sam Altman has floated as a way to share AI's economic upside with the public rather than let it sit entirely with shareholders. The plan, still conceptual, would channel that stake into a fund modelled on Alaska's, which invests oil revenue and pays dividends from a pool worth close to $91 billion. Altman wants other major US AI labs, including Anthropic, Google and Meta, to do the same, though none have confirmed they're on board.
The timing isn't a coincidence. Washington has been leaning harder on AI companies lately, and giving up equity looks like an attempt to get ahead of that pressure rather than wait to be regulated into it. It's not without precedent either. The US government took a 10 per cent stake in Intel last year, and Trump has since called the idea of the public becoming "a partner with the companies" interesting. There's a competing idea too. Senator Bernie Sanders wants a similar fund, just financed by a one-time 50 per cent tax on the biggest AI companies rather than a voluntary handover. Altman has spoken to both the administration and Sanders, so he's clearly trying to shape whichever version wins out. Any real deal would still need an act of Congress, so this stays far from certain.
What makes it worth watching is what a government stake actually buys beyond dividends. Equity usually comes with a seat at the table, and a government holding 5 per cent of a company as influential as OpenAI raises real questions about how much say Washington would expect over the technology itself, not just its profits.
For Australia, the read-through is less about direct exposure and more about precedent. Super funds already carry exposure to US tech through global equities, and OpenAI and Anthropic are both reportedly prepping listings that could value them above $1 trillion. If sovereign ownership of AI becomes normal in the US, it's fair to wonder whether Australia's own Future Fund ends up chasing a similar seat down the line.
