Trump administration dismisses possibility of AI backstop amid OpenAI controversy

US officials said Trump administration officials are rejecting the idea of ​​financial support for artificial intelligence companies. Comments from a top OpenAI official have raised questions about the prospects for a federal bailout.

The officials, speaking on condition of anonymity to describe internal thinking, said the administration has no plans to consider such a move going forward and that the idea is not even under consideration.

The administration's stance is a new signal to the industry about how much the government is willing to intervene in the sector. This follows comments from OpenAI's Chief Financial Officer, Sarah Frier, who suggested this week that the US government "support guarantees that would allow for funding." These comments drew attention from investors, industry leaders, and White House advisers.

“There will be no federal bailout for AI,” White House AI and crypto czar David Sacks posted Thursday on X. “The U.S. has at least 5 major frontier model companies. If one fails, others will take its place.”

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman, who has met with Trump on multiple occasions, also walked back Friar’s remarks, posting on Thursday that “we do not have or want government guarantees for OpenAI data centers.”

OpenAI has committed to spending $1.4 trillion on data centers and chips to build more advanced artificial intelligence systems and support widespread adoption of this technology. The scale of these financial commitments has rekindled concerns about an AI bubble, as OpenAI remains an unprofitable business.

The possibility of a bailout could prove politically toxic in Washington. Sending taxpayer money to some of the world's most valuable companies could anger voters already troubled by the high cost of living. Nevertheless, President Donald Trump has pushed the boundaries of conservative orthodoxy by taking a federal stake in troubled chipmaker Intel Corp. and eyeing investments in other companies in strategic industries.

Trump told reporters on Friday that he is not worried about an AI bubble.

“No, I love AI, I think it’s going to be very helpful,” Trump said during a meeting alongside Hungarian Prime Minister Viktor Orban at the White House. “It’s really going to be the wave of the future. We’re leading the world.”