Trump Reportedly Says Government 'Might' Take a Stake in OpenAI, Anthropic, Just Like It Did With Intel: 'I Have Many Deals Like That'

President Donald Trump is reportedly ruling out nationalizing artificial intelligence labs like OpenAI and Anthropic, but is looking at taking an equity stake in them instead, modeled on the government’s stake in Intel Corp. (NASDAQ:INTC).

‘I Might. Maybe I Could Do That.’

In an interview with Time earlier this week, Trump was asked why he wouldn’t do an Intel-kind deal with OpenAI and Anthropic, he responded, saying, “I might. Maybe I could do that. I have many deals like that — I do that.”

When questioned if he would consider nationalizing the top frontier AI labs, Trump said, “No.”

The Intel deal made “like $60 or $70 billion,” he said, adding that he told Nvidia Corp. (NASDAQ:NVDA) CEO Jensen Huang that he wouldn’t let the company sell certain chips “unless he gave the United States of America a cut.”

Trump said he does not “get anything” because he made the Intel deal, but added that “I made it for the United States.”

The President spoke to Time on Monday and the interview was published on Thursday.

The White House did not immediately respond to Benzinga’s request for comment.

OpenAI Floated a Similar Deal

OpenAI has reportedly considered offering the government a 5% equity stake as part of a broader push to deepen ties with the administration, with CEO Sam Altman holding preliminary talks with the government on distributing AI-driven financial gains to the public, the Financial Times reported in July.

Last month, Trump moved to rebrand artificial intelligence as “Super Intelligence” across the executive branch and announced plans to name an “AI Czar.”

The Government’s Other Equity Bets

The Intel stake of 9.9% is one of several the administration has taken in public companies, including stakes in MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP) , Lithium Americas Corp. (NYSE:LAC), Trilogy Metals Inc. (NYSE:TMQ), and a “golden share” in US Steel Corp.

Price Action: Shares in Intel closed 0.19% lower on Thursday at $120 and were up 0.19% to $120.23 in extended trading.

Benzinga Edge rankings indicate Intel’s stock has a Momentum score in the 98th percentile and a positive price trend across the short, medium, and long term.

Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.

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