Bernie Sanders files bill proposing 50% public ownership of US AI firms and giving out $1,000 dividends

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders has introduced the American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act to the U.S. Senate, proposing a plan to gain 50% ownership of U.S. AI firms through a sovereign wealth fund. The bi... Read original →

Though unlikely to pass, Sanders’ proposal signals a pivotal shift: AI infrastructure is being reframed as a public utility. Mandating 50% public ownership would disrupt NVIDIA’s capital allocation for EUV and 3nm nodes, potentially halting data center expansions under ‘public interest’ grounds—jeopardizing tightly coordinated capacity plans with TSMC in Taiwan, China. Compliance burdens would surge, especially around export controls and IP sharing. TSMC, as the primary U.S. AI chip foundry, may accelerate localization of its Arizona fab to de-risk politically. Intel and AMD could exploit this narrative to push ‘domestic alternative’ lobbying. Over the next 12–24 months, expect state-level AI governance pilots and a strategic pivot toward ‘geopolitical resilience,’ where firms align tech sovereignty with equity structures.