Similar discussions were reported by CNBC in June and were subsequently confirmed by President Trump, who said he had discussed “concepts where pieces could be given to the American public, where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies.” At the time, no specific size for the proposed equity stake was given.

The talks remain preliminary and, per the FT, it’s likely that any formal action would require congressional approval, which would significantly complicate the matter.

The idea of a public AI fund has also been publicly discussed by Altman, and OpenAI has grown increasingly specific in its proposals for how such a fund could be structured. Most recently, a policy paper titled “Industrial Policy for the Intelligence Age,” released by OpenAI in April, proposed a public wealth fund that could invest directly in AI labs and companies deploying their technology.

“Returns from the Fund could be distributed directly to citizens, allowing more people to participate directly in the upside of AI-driven growth, regardless of their starting wealth or access to capital,” the document reads.