OpenAI, the operator of ChatGPT, has reportedly offered a 5% stake to the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump. The move is seen as an effort to build friendly relations with the government as regulation of the artificial intelligence (AI) industry has intensified recently.
The Financial Times (FT) reported Tuesday, citing two sources familiar with the discussions, that OpenAI CEO Sam Altman had made the proposal to the Trump administration. The sources said the argument was that not only OpenAI but also other U.S. AI companies should contribute stakes. OpenAI cited the "Alaska Permanent Fund," which invests the state's oil revenue in stocks and pays dividends to the state government and residents, as a model. As it effectively takes the form of donating a stake, it remains uncertain whether other companies will join.
The proposal is an attempt to reverse worsening public opinion toward AI. As AI data centers spring up, electricity bills have soared, and the advancement of AI models is threatening jobs. With concerns even raised that AI could threaten national security, the Trump administration demanded that OpenAI first provide its latest model, GPT-5.6, to "trusted partners" before expanding its release in stages. It is also pursuing measures to regulate not only the timing of model releases by all AI companies but also overseas users.
President Trump had previously publicly criticized Intel CEO Lip-Bu Tan and called for his resignation, but changed his position to active support after the U.S. government acquired a 10% stake in Intel. Having observed this pattern, U.S. companies are funding Trump's policy initiatives to build friendly relations with the government. U.S. memory chipmaker Micron has decided to invest $250 million (about 388.3 billion won) in so-called "Trump savings accounts" aimed at building future assets for newborns.
