The US justice department said Abdulrahman Alfozan, a Saudi national, was arrested after OpenAI’s security team found the device late last month. (EPA Images pic)SAN FRANCISCO: A Saudi employee of OpenAI was arrested after allegedly planting a recording device in one of the company's San Francisco offices, the AI firm and federal prosecutors said Tuesday.

"We discovered a sophisticated recording device that was hidden inside one of our offices" and "referred the matter to the FBI," OpenAI told AFP in a statement.

OpenAI's security team found the device late last month and the employee, Saudi national Abdulrahman Alfozan, was arrested on Oct 9, the US justice department said.

Alfozan, a 35-year-old engineer who had worked for OpenAI since July 2025, allegedly wrapped a USB device in toilet paper and inserted it into a television located in an "executive conference room," according to a justice department statement.