Report: US government plans to acquire shares in AI companies and distribute dividends to all citizens, with OpenAI's Altman as a key proponent
The U.S. government is exploring the possibility of directly holding equity in leading artificial intelligence companies and considering distributing investment returns as dividends to all American households. This concept, proactively promoted by OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, marks an unprecedented deepening of interests between the government and tech giants.
According to digital news media NOTUS on Thursday (June 4), three sources revealed that senior U.S. officials have begun preliminary discussions with several major AI companies regarding government equity participation. The core plan being discussed is for relevant companies to voluntarily transfer a portion of their shares to the government, rather than through compulsory means. The plan is still being advanced, and specific details have yet to be finalized.
The timing of this news is quite sensitive. Both OpenAI and Anthropic are preparing for sizable initial public offerings—according to Reuters, OpenAI is preparing to submit a confidential IPO application, while Anthropic has secretly filed for listing with U.S. securities regulators this Monday. Analysts say if the U.S. government acquires shares before or after the IPO, the potential financial and policy impacts could be significant.
Altman Initiates Lobbying; Concept Has Been Brewing For Some Time
Sam Altman is the main driver behind this plan. According to NOTUS, Altman directly presented the idea to Trump as early as 2025, and has recently had in-depth discussions with senior government officials, positioning it as a way to more broadly distribute AI economic dividends to the public.
Since Trump began his second term, Altman has maintained communication with government officials on this topic.
This aligns with other government cooperation concepts he previously promoted—in 2025 Altman stated that OpenAI had discussed the possibility of federal loan guarantees with the U.S. government to advance chip factory construction in the U.S., but clearly indicated he was not seeking guarantees for the construction of its data centers.
The central logic of this equity plan is: by having AI companies voluntarily transfer part of their shares to the government, the government becomes a direct beneficiary of the AI industry, using investment returns for public purposes, including issuing dividend payouts to all American households.
It is noteworthy that not all leading AI companies are involved. According to NOTUS, Anthropic is currently not engaged in any negotiations with the government regarding offering equity. This means that even if the plan is eventually implemented, its coverage and impact may vary greatly depending on the participants involved.
Precedents for Government Equity Participation in Tech Industry
This discussion of AI equity is not an isolated incident, but has documented precedents.
The Trump administration announced in May this year that it would collectively hold $2 billion in equity across nine quantum computing companies, indicating a forming policy tendency of active government intervention in frontier technology industries.
Meanwhile, on Tuesday, Trump signed an executive order requiring leading AI developers to voluntarily submit government cybersecurity tests prior to releasing their most powerful models to the public.
These moves demonstrate the government is deepening its involvement in the AI industry through multiple mechanisms—from regulatory reviews to equity holding.
Analysts note that the news of potential government equity participation arrives during the pivotal IPO push by OpenAI and Anthropic. Its impact on valuation, equity structure, and post-listing governance will be closely watched by the market.
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