Report says OpenAI floated a 5% US government stake

Tom's Hardware reports that OpenAI has considered giving the US government a 5% stake in the company, days after Washington reportedly delayed GPT-5.6. The proposal is described as an early-stage idea in which leading US AI labs could contribute equity into an Alaska-style public fund. The story connects OpenAI's valuation, model-release oversight, and national AI governance into a possible ownership-based policy debate.

Key details: The reported idea would give the US government a 5% OpenAI stake, Sam Altman has reportedly discussed a wider public-fund model for leading AI labs, The idea may require congressional approval and remains early-stage.

Why it matters: A public equity stake would shift AI governance from regulation alone toward state participation in frontier-lab upside and control.