(Image credit: Getty / Anna Moneymaker) OpenAI has discussed handing the U.S. government a 5% ownership stake, the Financial Times has reported, citing two people familiar with the talks, with CEO Sam Altman proposing that every leading U.S. AI developer contribute the same share of its equity to a vehicle modeled on the Alaska Permanent Fund, which pays annual dividends to state residents from Alaska’s oil wealth. At the $852 billion valuation OpenAI set in its March funding round, a 5% stake is worth roughly $42.6 billion. The FT characterized the discussions as conceptual and early-stage, and reported that implementing any deal might require an act of Congress. Go deeper with TH Premium: AI and data centers Altman is understood to have raised the idea with President Donald Trump, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, and has spoken with Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) in recent weeks.…