Trump Considers U.S. Government or Public Equity Stakes in AI Companies
President Donald Trump said he is considering arrangements in which the American public or the U.S. government could hold a stake in leading artificial intelligence companies, a proposal that would mark a striking shift in how Washington engages with one of the world’s fastest-growing industries. According to comments captured by Bloomberg and circulated in video form, Trump said he has spoken with AI companies and planned to meet with their executives in the near future to discuss a structure that would let Americans “benefit from the success of AI.”
Trump framed the idea as a kind of partnership, saying there are “concepts where pieces could be given to the American public” and that the goal is for people in the United States to share in the gains from AI. He also said he wants to keep the U.S. ahead of China in the technology race, calling AI “probably the biggest industry maybe that we’ve ever seen.” TechCrunch separately reported that Trump said he was discussing deals “where the American people can benefit from the success of AI,” reinforcing that the proposal is still at the discussion stage rather than a formal policy.
The comments suggest the administration is exploring ways to capture some of the enormous value being created by companies such as OpenAI and other major AI developers. Bloomberg’s reporting indicated that Trump planned to discuss the idea with executives as soon as next week, while the video of his remarks said “all the big AI companies” were expected to come to the White House. The proposal comes as several large AI firms are working toward major fundraising and potential public-market debuts, which could further elevate the stakes of any government involvement.
The idea would also raise immediate questions about how such ownership would work in practice. It is not yet clear whether Trump is referring to direct government equity stakes, some form of public benefit arrangement, or a broader policy deal tied to regulation, national security, or access to federal resources. The remarks did not include details on valuation, governance rights, or whether any company had agreed to the concept.
If pursued, the proposal would fit into a broader debate over who should benefit from the economic value generated by AI systems trained on large amounts of publicly available information and creative work. Supporters of some kind of public stake argue that because AI systems are built on a wide base of human knowledge, the public should share in the returns. Critics are likely to question whether government ownership could distort markets or create conflicts with the administration’s role as a regulator.
For now, the main development is Trump’s willingness to open the discussion at all. The next step appears to be the meeting he said he expects to hold with AI executives, which could clarify whether this is a serious policy push or an exploratory idea meant to signal that the administration wants a bigger share of the industry’s upside for the United States.