Abstract:
According to Fortune magazine, engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan, who was arrested by the FBI on suspicion of secretly installing a recording device in the OpenAI executive conference room, also has another identity, that is, a venture partner of Saudi venture capital institution RAED Ventures.
Abdulrahman Alfozan
The U.S. Department of Justice reported that 35-year-old Alfzan, a Saudi citizen, was arrested on October 9 and appeared in court for the first time on October 13. He is still in federal custody and is scheduled to attend a detention hearing on October 19. He was charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. The case has not yet been decided and the relevant charges are still pending in court.
According to court documents reviewed by Fortune, Alfzan has held legal permanent resident status in the United States since September 2020. His academic and professional experience in the United States can be traced back to entering MIT in 2011. His LinkedIn profile lists work experience at companies such as SAP, Microsoft, Meta and OpenAI, as well as degrees from two well-known American universities, a medical-related patent and multiple awards.
RAED Ventures website
On February 8, 2025, RAED Ventures announced that Alfzan had joined as one of approximately 20 venture partners in the agency. As of Fortune's press time, his photo still appeared on the agency's website. RAED has not responded to inquiries as to whether he still maintains a partnership with the agency.
There are different opinions on when Alfzan joined OpenAI. OpenAI told Fortune that he joined the company in July 2025; his personal LinkedIn profile says September 2025. OpenAI did not respond to the discrepancy, say whether he would be allowed to hold outside investment roles during his tenure, or provide information on the company's conflict of interest policy.
Fortune emphasized that the criminal complaint does not accuse Alfzan of stealing trade secrets, nor does it allege that he was directed by a foreign government. The report quoted an OpenAI statement saying that the company found no signs that he improperly accessed or transferred model weights, source code, or customer data. Existing court documents also do not link him to Saudi investments in U.S. AI companies.
Abdulrahman Alfozan’s social media profile
The investigation surrounding the recording equipment presents a timeline that lasts several weeks.
According to Fortune, citing the indictment, starting on August 17, Alfzan allegedly inquired from an office robot about the number of people in the OpenAI conference room, meeting arrangements and other information, and asked how to send packages to the company building through the US Postal Service. OpenAI confirmed to the publication that the agent is an internal tool of the company.
The indictment also states that starting on September 24, a chatbot account associated with Alfzan’s wife submitted multiple questions involving the creation of continuous recording devices, encrypted memory cards, and the addition of real-time monitoring capabilities. OpenAI told Fortune that the chatbot in question is ChatGPT. The account shares several identifiers and attributes with Alfozan's own account.
The prosecutor alleged that the equipment involved was installed in the conference room on September 28. Fortune quoted sources as saying that OpenAI discovered the equipment during a routine inspection on September 30 and subsequently notified the federal government. The company later installed a camera behind the TV in the conference room involved, and on October 5, Alfzan was filmed entering the conference room and looking at the footage behind the TV.
OpenAI fired him on October 9, and the FBI arrested him on the same day.
According to "Fortune" citing the prosecutor's application to seal the case, Alfozan, his wife and another family member had previously booked a one-way ticket from San Francisco to Saudi Arabia via Istanbul on October 12, just three days before his arrest.
Court documents did not say why the family booked the trip. Prosecutors cited the flight arrangement as a reason for applying to temporarily seal the case, arguing that Alfzan might have left the United States earlier if he had been informed of the investigation before his arrest.
According to Fortune, the indictment does not provide a motive for Alfzan’s alleged installation of the recording equipment.
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