President Donald Trump is planning to hold a meeting with AI and tech bosses next week to discuss partnership proposals that could see Americans gain a financial stake in AI companies.

One idea being discussed is that Americans could receive dividends linked to the profits of AI companies as a way of attracting support from a public that remains sceptical about the technology's impact on jobs and the economy.

“There’s a concept out there, there’s so much money and it’s so big that there are concepts where pieces could be given to the American public, where the American public essentially becomes a partner with the companies,” Trump told reporters while headed to an unrelated event in Wisconsin, according to Politico. “There’s something very interesting about it, where it almost becomes a partnership with the American public, and we’ll look into that.”

“We’re talking about it where the American people can benefit from the success of AI. And by doing that, they’re going to like it better,” he said.

He noted that he has already spoken with the companies, adding that there is a potential meeting at the White House with “all the big ones” next week. Although Trump didn’t name the exact participating companies, the biggest tech firms working in the US include Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, SpaceX, and Anthropic.

AI companies like OpenAI and Anthropic have already broadly discussed related ideas. The details vary, but the aim is to give the American public a financial stake in the industry to help offset the potential economic disruptions of AI.

Senator Bernie Sanders recently proposed legislation to create a sovereign wealth fund that would hold a 50% ownership stake in major AI companies. When asked about Sanders’ plan, Trump said:

“As far as economics is concerned, we have certain things that aren’t that far apart. People are surprised.”

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Several tech leaders have recently visited senior US officials, including OpenAI’s chief executive Sam Altman, who travelled to Washington DC to meet Senator Bernie Sanders this week; and Anthropic’s chief executive Dario Amodei, who met senior White House officials a few weeks ago.

Critics, however, see a potential conflict of interest because the government would be acting both as an investor in AI companies and as their regulator.

Earlier this week, US House lawmakers proposed AI legislation that would keep advanced AI model development under Washington’s control, preempting individual state laws regulating the technology.

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