Federal authorities arrested a former OpenAI engineer just days before he was scheduled to flee to Saudi Arabia, charging him with illegally installing a hidden listening device inside an executive conference room at the artificial intelligence (AI) power.
Abdulrahman Alfozan, 35, a Saudi national, was apprehended by the FBI after company security uncovered an audio recorder stuffed into a USB port on the back of a television and wrapped in toilet paper.
The arrest came shortly before Alfozan, along with his wife and a relative, was set to depart on an Oct. 12 one-way flight from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul, according to unsealed federal court filings.
The case, which federal prosecutors have labeled a “matter of national security,” underscores growing concerns over global corporate espionage amid an intense international race for dominance in artificial intelligence.
“This arrest highlights our relentless efforts in partnership with the FBI to identify and prosecute those who seek to steal our technology,” said Craig Missakian, U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of California.
Alfozan, a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, joined OpenAI in July 2025 after spending five years at Meta Platforms Inc. and launching an Andreessen Horowitz-backed startup.
According to prosecutors, surveillance footage captured Alfozan near the restricted executive conference room on multiple occasions, despite having no authorization to enter or attend meetings held there. The room was frequently used for high-level discussions regarding proprietary research, technical capabilities, and government relationships.
Investigators allege Alfozan used AI chatbots to map out his scheme, querying building addresses, meeting room capacities, and the physical locations of executive leadership. Court documents further reveal that a chatbot account associated with his wife contained search queries on how to install and conceal listening equipment.
Security staff at OpenAI first discovered the bugged TV on Sept. 30. Less than a week later, on Oct. 5, guard personnel located a second, identical recording device inside Alfozan’s unattended bag after surveillance camera footage caught him returning to the conference room to inspect the bug.
OpenAI immediately fired Alfozan and alerted federal authorities. In a statement, the Sam Altman-led company emphasized that an internal audit revealed “no indication” that model weights, sensitive source code, or customer data had been stolen or exfiltrated.
In 2025, he became a venture partner at Riyadh-based Raed Ventures, a firm connected to the Saudi royal family. In a podcast interview recorded shortly before his arrest, Alfozan spoke about meeting Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman during a 2016 Silicon Valley delegation. He recalled the prince advising young Saudi engineers to gain experience at premier American tech firms before returning to build up the kingdom’s domestic capabilities.
Alfozan is charged with violating federal recording statutes. His attorney, William Pernik, cautioned against rushing to judgment, emphasizing that his client has not been charged with foreign espionage or trade secret theft.
“He spent years studying, working, and contributing to an American technological sector that leads the world,” Pernik said, noting that Alfozan is presumed innocent.
If convicted, Alfozan faces up to five years in federal prison and a $250,000 fine. He remains in federal custody ahead of a scheduled court appearance on Oct. 19.
