President Donald Trump announced on June 5 that his administration is exploring the possibility of acquiring direct equity stakes in prominent AI companies. The goal, according to Trump, is to establish a partnership with the American public that lets taxpayers share in the financial upside of AI growth.
The companies on the shortlist include OpenAI, Anthropic, and xAI. Meetings with these firms are scheduled to begin the week of June 8.
The Intel playbook
This isn’t the administration’s first venture into government-as-shareholder territory. The Trump team already converted $8.9 billion in CHIPS Act grants into an approximately 10% stake in Intel, a position that has since appreciated considerably as the chipmaker’s stock recovered.
The proposed mechanisms for involvement go beyond simple stock purchases. Options on the table reportedly include government board seats, equity options tied to federal support, targeted taxation strategies aimed at the AI sector, and the creation of public wealth funds.
