- OpenAI employee Abdulrahman Alfozan arrested for planting recording device.
- Device found in executive conference room television; security footage confirmed.
- OpenAI found no evidence of data theft or transmission.
- Charges filed amid global AI race; employee faces prison.
A Saudi national employed by OpenAI has been arrested in the US after allegedly planting a recording device inside one of the artificial intelligence company’s San Francisco offices, the company and federal prosecutors said on Tuesday.
OpenAI said its security team discovered a sophisticated recording device hidden inside an office late last month and referred the matter to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
The US Department of Justice said the employee, 35-year-old engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, was arrested on October 9. He had worked at OpenAI since July 2025 and is accused of placing the device inside a television in an executive conference room, according to AFP.
OpenAI Employee Allegedly Hid Device In Television
According to the Justice Department, Alfozan allegedly wrapped a USB device in toilet paper before inserting it into the television. Investigators also found that security footage captured him near the conference room on multiple occasions, despite him not being authorised to attend meetings held there.
Prosecutors alleged that Alfozan used a productivity tool to search for information about OpenAI’s office buildings, meeting rooms, calendars, schedules and the locations of individuals.
A chatbot account associated with his spouse also reportedly contained queries about remote audio recording and encrypting memory cards, the Justice Department said.
OpenAI Says No Evidence Of Data Theft
The company’s security team discovered a second device while searching an unattended bag belonging to Alfozan, according to the Justice Department. Security footage also allegedly showed him inside the restricted conference room, appearing to look behind the television where the recording device had been placed.
It remains unclear whether the device captured any information. OpenAI told AFP that it had found no evidence that Alfozan had improperly accessed or extracted model weights, source code or customer data.
The allegations have not established that any information was successfully recorded or transmitted outside the company.
Arrest Comes Amid Global AI Race
The case comes as countries and technology companies compete to gain an advantage in artificial intelligence. The Trump administration has pushed to describe the race as one for “superintelligence”, underlining its national security implications.
“This serious situation underscores why winning the global super intelligence race is a national security prerogative,” Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said in the Justice Department’s statement.
“The intelligence community remains committed to safeguarding America’s cutting-edge intellectual property from foreign threats,” Clayton added.
Saudi Arabia has also emerged as a significant investor in the AI sector. Its state-backed AI company, Humain, invested $3 billion in Elon
Musk’s xAI shortly before SpaceX acquired the AI division in February. Now known as SpaceXAI, the division announced last year that it was partnering with Humain to build a 500-megawatt data centre in Saudi Arabia.
Engineer Faces Up To Five Years In Prison
The Justice Department said Alfozan had been charged with using or attempting to use an electronic, mechanical or other device to intercept oral communications. The offence carries a potential sentence of up to five years in prison and a $250,000 fine.
The department did not accuse Alfozan or Saudi Arabia, a close US ally, of espionage in its statement.
A LinkedIn account matching Alfozan’s name and professional background indicates that he previously worked at Meta, the company that owns Facebook, as well as an AI start-up and a venture capital firm. He also studied at the University of California, Berkeley, and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Alfozan is expected to appear at a federal court hearing on October 19.
The case follows an earlier US prosecution involving alleged spying for Saudi officials. In 2022, former Twitter employee Ahmad Abouammo was found guilty of spying for Saudi officials who sought to identify critics on the platform.
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