The government wants a piece of the AI book

The Trump administration is weighing AI equity stakes and a public wealth fund that could send returns to Americans, and critics see potential bailout

 Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

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The idea of the federal government taking equity stakes in private companies has rarely been attempted outside of crisis, and never quite like this.

The Trump administration is in active discussions about acquiring financial stakes in leading artificial intelligence companies. The idea, which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman first pitched to the administration in 2025, would have AI companies donate equity to the federal government to seed a public wealth fund that distributes returns directly to American citizens.

It is, depending on who you ask, either the most important wealth-sharing proposal in a generation or a bailout dressed up in the language of........

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