Trump Admin in Talks for U.S. Government Stake in OpenAI

The Trump administration and OpenAI are in active talks about giving the U.S. government an equity stake in the AI company, with the structure potentially seeded by donated shares rather than cash. CEO Sam Altman and the White House are in ongoing talks about a possible government stake, with OpenAI potentially donating equity to seed a “Public Wealth Fund” outlined in its April policy proposal, and the discussions have been in progress for more than a year after Altman first shared the idea in 2025.

For traders, the read-through is broader than just OpenAI. It touches Microsoft, Nvidia, the rest of the AI supply chain, and the precedent set by the Intel deal earlier in Trump’s second term.

What is actually being discussed

Under the proposed framework, OpenAI would donate equity to the federal government rather than selling it, a novel structure that avoids direct cash outlays from taxpayers, and the donated shares would seed what OpenAI has branded a “Public Wealth Fund.”

The fund could “invest in diversified, long-term assets,” allowing U.S. citizens to take part in the upside of AI growth, including by receiving funds directly. For now, no agreement has been announced, no government stake in OpenAI has been finalized, and the discussions remain at an early stage.

Trump’s broader equity-stake playbook

Trump signed an executive order in February calling for the federal government to establish a sovereign wealth fund, and the administration has already taken stakes in Intel, IBM and other quantum and critical mineral companies during the president’s second term.

The U.S. government previously secured a 10 percent stake in Intel with a nearly $9 billion investment. That deal is the template critics and supporters are now extending to the AI sector.

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Why the market is paying attention

Tech and chip names sold off hard on the headlines. The Nasdaq dropped 4.2% on Friday and the PHLX Semiconductor Sector index fell over 10%, with Broadcom down 13%, Nvidia down 6.2% and falling below the $5 trillion market cap threshold, and Meta declining 5.5% alongside Marvell, Micron, Intel and AMD.

The concern: if Washington becomes a shareholder, it also becomes a regulator with skin in the game. As one policy advocate put it, the government would be a shareholder and a regulator at the same time, which creates substantial conflicts of interest.

The IPO angle

OpenAI is valued at more than $850 billion by private investors and is gearing up for an initial public offering as soon as this year, after closing a record-breaking funding round in March co-led by MGX, which is backed by Abu Dhabi’s sovereign wealth fund.

The contrast with Anthropic is stark: OpenAI is actively courting government partnership while Anthropic, which also filed for its IPO this week, could become a relative loser in the AI race if it is left out of such a deal.

Options market and stocks to watch

Watch MSFT for any read-through on OpenAI exposure given Microsoft’s investment and commercial relationship, especially if a government stake changes governance dynamics.

Watch NVDA as the bellwether for AI capex sentiment, particularly after the Friday tech selloff tied to these reports.

Watch INTC as the live template for what a federal equity stake looks like in practice, and how the market values that arrangement over time.

Watch IBM, which is also among the companies the administration has taken a stake in during Trump’s second term.

Watch AVGO and other semis for follow-through, given Friday’s sharp move in the SOX index on AI policy headlines. More AI and policy coverage is available in other news.

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