Sam Altman wants Americans to share in AI's wealth. The proposal may be more revealing as a political narrative than as a policy plan. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman's oft-discussed promise that Americans will share in the wealth AI creates was in the news again last week. On Thursday, the reported that Altman is in talks with President Trump about giving the US government a 5% stake in OpenAI. In some ways, Altman's plan is old news. He wrote about a more radical version of this back in 2021, proposing that companies above a certain valuation (not just AI companies) pay 2.5% of their market value each year into a fund that sends Americans annual disbursements.

Sam Altman is reportedly considering offering 5% of OpenAI to the U.S. in a deal with Donald Trump, if AI competitors like Anthropic also contribute equity.

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The drama reveals just how deeply Silicon Valley has sunk its claws into Hollywood. Enter your email to receive alerts for this author. You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time. You're already subscribed to the aa_Nitish_Pahwa newsletter. You can manage your newsletter subscriptions at any time.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been in talks about public ownership with Donald Trump, according to the report. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has been in talks about public ownership with Donald Trump, according to the report. OpenAI'in early talks to give 5% stake to US government' OpenAI is reportedly in early stage talks to give a 5% stake in the ChatGPT developer to the US government as artificial intelligence companies attempt to smooth relations with Donald Trump's administration. The OpenAI chief executive, Sam Altman, has argued that giving the US public a financial stake in the company is the best way to share the benefits of AI, according to the Financial Times, which cited two unnamed people familiar with the discussions. The proposal would also involve other US AI companies giving a similar stake to the government, the FT reported, although it is not clear yet whether companies such as Anthropic, Google and Meta would agree to the plan.

OpenAI had been working with the US government over a preview of the GPT 5.6 model. OpenAI had been working with the US government over a preview of the GPT 5.6 model. Sam Altman announces limited preview of GPT 5.6 in move that echoes launch of Anthropic's Mythos OpenAI is staggering the release of its latest AI model after a request from the US government, in a move echoing the launch of Anthropic's Mythos product. Sam Altman, the chief executive of the company behind ChatGPT, told staff this week that GPT 5.6 would be released in a limited preview to a small group of partners, according to the tech publication The Information. Altman said the federal government had asked for a staggered release.

OpenAI has failed to execute several strategies to monetise ChatGPT, including advertisements, which Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, had said would be a'last resort'. OpenAI has failed to execute several strategies to monetise ChatGPT, including advertisements, which Sam Altman, OpenAI's CEO, had said would be a'last resort'. As the tech mega-IPO race heats up, has OpenAI missed its moment? With rivals racing to market to raise'eye-popping sums', the spotlight is now on the AI sector's one-time'poster child' A year is a long time in AI. Just 12 months ago, Sam Altman was predicting his company OpenAI would build a super intelligence and fundamentally remake society.

Sam Altman Says AI'Jobs Apocalypse' He Once Predicted Probably Won't Happen. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the BlackRock Infrastructure Summit on March 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman speaks during the BlackRock Infrastructure Summit on March 11, 2026 in Washington, DC. Throughout his rise to becoming one of the most influential CEOs in artificial intelligence, OpenAI's Sam Altman made repeated bold assertions about the impact that the new technology would have on jobs. He has said that AI will "probably replace most of the jobs people do today," that entire job categories will be "totally, totally gone," and that those impacted by the dramatic shifts will "find all sorts of new things to do. Now, however, Altman appears to have changed his tune, saying he is "delighted to be wrong" about the impact AI would have on employment. I don't think we're going to have the kind of jobs apocalypse that some of the companies in our space advocate or talk about, he said during a virtual interview at a Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) conference in Sydney on Tuesday. "I thought there would have been more impact on entry-level white-collar jobs being eliminated by now than has actually happened, Altman said.

Elon Musk attends Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC on 20 January 2025. Sam Altman attends a press conference at the White House on 21 January 2025. Elon Musk attends Donald Trump's inauguration in Washington DC on 20 January 2025. Sam Altman attends a press conference at the White House on 21 January 2025. Musk and Altman's AI rivalry reaches boiling point as IPO race heats up Let's recap a whirlwind five days that may determine the future of AI.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has revealed its plans to go public in the US, allowing people to trade shares in the firm on the stock market. SpaceX makes rockets, offers a satellite internet service called Starlink, and also owns Musk's controversial artificial intelligence (AI) firm xAI. The initial public offering (IPO) on the US stock market is set to be the largest in Wall Street history and could start next month under the ticker symbol SPCX. Because of the shares he will own in SpaceX, the IPO could make billionaire Musk, who is already the world's richest person, a trillionaire. SpaceX values itself at $1.25tn, and Musk's majority ownership of the company means his share could be worth more than $600bn.