The British Financial Times quoted informed sources that OpenAI had proposed, in early communications with United States officials, to consider providing the United States Government with 5 per cent equity. This idea is intended to allow the U.S. public to indirectly share in AI industry growth gains while mitigating the political scrutiny facing the industry.

The idea is still in its early stages

It was reported that the programme was still in its conceptual phase and had been introduced in earlier discussions by Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman of OpenAI. The communication allegedly involved senior officials of the Trump administration, who referred to Howard Lutnick, United States Secretary of Commerce, and Scott Bessent, Minister of Finance.

If the programme continues, it is expected to involve more complex legal and political processes. It was noted that similar arrangements were likely to require approval by the United States Congress, and it was not clear whether other large AI companies were willing to support similar practices.

The goal is to ease political pressure.

At the heart of this line of thought, the report argues, is to bind the long-term benefits of the AI industry to the wider public interest. As AI's influence rises, and the industry faces increased policy attention and political pressure, OpenAI hopes to improve its relationship with Washington.

Except for OpenAI, whether companies like Anthropic, Google and Meta, which are equally deeply involved in AI competition will accept similar equity arrangements, the report does not give a clear signal.

IPO timetable still pending

OpenAI is based in San Francisco and is the developer of ChatGPT. It was reported that the company had filed a draft IPO application confidentially with the United States Securities and Exchange Commission in June but had not yet determined the date of its official listing.

  • Discussion: Alleged provision of 5 per cent equity to the United States Government
  • Current state: still at the conceptual stage, without formal programming
  • Listing progress: IPO draft has been submitted in secret, schedule is not set

Recent market news indicates that the OpenAI consultancy team is also assessing whether to postpone the listing to 2027. OpenAI did not comment on the above-mentioned equity discussion to the Financial Times.