OpenAI has proposed granting the US government a 5% equity stake, worth an estimated $42.6 billion at its current valuation, to defuse growing political pressure from Washington. The proposal was floated by OpenAI Chief Executive Sam Altman during discussions with the Trump administration, who argued that giving the public a financial stake in AI companies would allow Americans to directly benefit from the industry's growth. The plan extends beyond OpenAI, envisioning a government-backed sovereign wealth fund holding 5% stakes in major US-based AI developers, including Anthropic, Google and Meta, though it remains unclear whether those companies would support such a framework. The discussions come as the US government increases scrutiny of artificial intelligence over cybersecurity risks, national security concerns and competition from Chinese AI developers. OpenAI had earlier proposed the idea of a "public wealth fund" to distribute some of AI's economic gains more broadly. The White House, OpenAI, Anthropic, Google and Meta had not commented on the report at the time of publication.