Senior US officials have discussed the federal government chucking a ton of taxpayer cash at major artificial intelligence companies.
According to the Wall Street Journal the idea would let the government grab a slice of the possible upside from a technology still being flogged as magic beans. The idea would give AI companies a nice regulatory halo from the same people supposed to keep their models in check.
It could calm growing nerves about the economic mess AI might cause as several AI outfits prepare to go public. The snag is that Washington would be exposing taxpayers to the same AI market wobbles currently being hyped by Silicon Valley’s finest pitch merchants.
Some AI executives have warned their shiny new tools could change how people live and work, then give the labour market a proper kicking. If that were true it would mean that the government is using taxpayer cash to put them out of work.
Silicon Valley has pushed several ideas for adapting to the AI era, including shared income for the masses and a sovereign wealth fund. OpenAI chief executive Sam Altman met Vermont independent senator Bernie Sanders on 3 June 2026.
Sanders has said he plans to introduce legislation to transfer 50 per cent of the equity in the top AI companies to a public fund. The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Altman has long toyed with dragging the federal government into OpenAI’s orbit. Years before ChatGPT appeared, he asked whether Washington fancied funding the AI lab.
In April, OpenAI proposed creating a public wealth fund that would invest in AI companies and spread the economic benefits to the broader public. The proposal said the fund’s profits should go directly to citizens.
That would let more people benefit from AI’s growth, including those without money parked in the financial markets. Altman has floated a programme that could work like Trump accounts, according to the people familiar with the discussions.
Those accounts are a new type of IRA for children that parents can set up when filing taxes. Senior government officials have had early talks about taking direct stakes in AI developers since early 2025.
The discussions form part of a wider Trump administration push to take a more active role in the private sector. The administration has announced direct investments in at least 10 companies, including chip maker Intel.
The president signed an executive order earlier this week increasing federal oversight of the AI industry. OpenAI chief financial officer Sarah Friar last year floated the possibility of government backing for loans tied to data centres.
Altman later said the company did not want federal loan guarantees. Friar said OpenAI was not seeking help for its infrastructure commitments.
She said the company was talking about a broader framework for an industry-wide build-out.
