OpenAI proposes donating 5% equity to US sovereign wealth fund

OpenAI proposes donating 5% equity to US sovereign wealth fund">

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has proposed giving 5% of the company's equity to a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, the Financial Times reported on Thursday, citing two people familiar with the matter. Under the proposal, other AI companies would donate similar stakes, although significant questions remain about the specifics.

According to the FT's reporting, the donation would be meant to 'secure good relations with the administration and … address political blowback.' 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, where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies.' At the time, no specific size for the proposed equity stake was given. The talks remain preliminary and, per the FT, it's likely that any formal action would require congressional approval, which would significantly complicate the matter. The idea of a public AI fund has also been publicly discussed by Altman, and OpenAI has grown increasingly specific in its proposals for how such a fund could be structured.

Most recently, a policy paper titled 'Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age,' released by OpenAI in April, proposed a public wealth fund that could invest directly in AI labs and companies deploying their technology. '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, calling for a one-time 50% tax on AI company stock, with the collected shares being deposited into a public wealth fund. The bill, called the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act, would apply to all 'systemically important' AI companies, including those dealing with data centers, infrastructure, or robotics. Under the proposal, companies like Google and SpaceX that include AI as only part of their business would be allowed to spin off non-AI portions of the company to avoid taxation.

The bill has yet to advance to committee. Why this matters: The proposal by OpenAI and similar discussions around a public AI fund highlight the growing scrutiny of AI companies and their role in society. As AI technologies become increasingly integral to the economy, governments are exploring ways to ensure the benefits are shared more widely.

For developers and businesses, this could mean new opportunities for collaboration and investment, but also raises questions about the potential regulatory hurdles and obligations that come with such proposals. For consumers, a public AI fund could provide a chance to participate in the economic upside of AI-driven growth. However, the specifics of how such a fund would be structured, managed, and regulated remain unclear, leaving many open questions about its potential impact.