Trump says he thinks AI companies will agree to 'giving back' to the public

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday that he expects top artificial intelligence companies to agree to "giving back" to the public, an apparent reference to a possible government stake in the firms.

"I'm going to have meetings with the top 12 or 15 executives very shortly, and we're talking about giving back something to the public, and if we do that, the public will become very rich," Trump told reporters in the White House's Oval Office. "I think they'll do that, and I think it'll make it very popular."

Support is growing in Washington for a potential financial partnership between the federal government and the AI industry, as tech giants OpenAI and Anthropic prepare for blockbuster initial public offerings. OpenAI is targeting a valuation of up to $1 trillion, Reuters previously reported. An agreement to give the U.S. government equity stakes could have a massive impact on the U.S. government's finances.

Concern is also growing among Americans about the impact of AI on their daily lives. Half of Americans fear that the rise of AI could put them or someone in their household out of work, according to a Reuters/Ipsos poll completed on Monday.

(Reporting by Bo Erickson and Trevor Hunnicutt; Editing by Doina Chiacu and Mark Porter)

Copyright Reuters or USA Today Network via Reuters Connect.

This story was originally published June 10, 2026 at 9:30 AM.