OpenAI Proposed Donating 5% Equity Stake to U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund

OpenAI proposed donating 5% of its equity to a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, the Financial Times reported Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Under the proposal, other AI companies would donate similar stakes. The donation would be meant to secure good relations with the administration and address political blowback, according to the reporting.

Background on the Proposal Similar discussions were reported by CNBC in June and were subsequently confirmed by President Trump, who said he had discussed concepts where pieces could be given to the American public. At the time, no specific size for the proposed equity stake was given.

The talks remain preliminary. Any formal action would require congressional approval, which would significantly complicate the matter, the Financial Times reported.

The idea of a public AI fund has also been publicly discussed by OpenAI. In April, the company released a policy paper titled "Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age" that proposed a public wealth fund that could invest directly in AI labs. "Returns from the Fund could be distributed directly to citizens, allowing more people to participate directly in the upside of AI-driven growth, regardless of their starting wealth or access to capital," the document reads.

A more aggressive version of the policy was proposed by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) in June. The bill, called the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, would call for a one-time 50% tax on AI company stock, with the collected shares being deposited into a public wealth fund.