OpenAI Saudi employee arrested by FBI after secretly installing recording device that was analyzed by an AI model

OpenAI and the U.S. Department of Justice said in statements that an employee of the artificial intelligence company was arrested after being accused of secretly planting a recording device in the office. The Justice Department said on Tuesday that Saudi Arabian citizen Abdulrahman Alfozan was arrested on October 9. More than a week before the incident, OpenAI employees discovered a recording device behind a television in an executive meeting room. Alfozan is currently being held in a federal facility. According to a person familiar with the matter who declined to be identified, Alfozan joined OpenAI in July 2025 and worked on the product team. OpenAI said the company used its own artificial intelligence models to analyze the device and determine who had placed it. The employee was subsequently fired. The company said that after it called the police, the FBI carried out the arrest, and the investigation is still ongoing.