Donald Trump reportedly said he might consider U.S. government equity stakes in OpenAI and Anthropic, using the Intel investment as a model. The remarks came in a White House interview on September 28, 2026. He separately answered no when asked whether he would nationalize leading AI labs.
The Intel comparison
An equity stake gives an investor partial ownership of a company. The U.S. government’s stake in Intel is 9.9%. Trump said the Intel deal had made about $60 billion or $70 billion.
An earlier OpenAI concept
In July 2026, OpenAI was reported to have considered a preliminary 5% equity contribution to a public-wealth-fund concept. That earlier idea was separate from Trump’s later remarks.
Contracts are different from ownership
The Department of Defense had a contract with Anthropic worth up to $200 million in 2025. A federal contract and an equity stake are different relationships: a contract is for work, while equity represents ownership in a company.
