Last year, the Trump administration signed a pact with Saudi Arabia granting the kingdom access to advanced chips and AI technologies that might otherwise be restricted over national security concerns. Saudi investment firms remain a major source of capital for US tech companies.
According to the complaint, Alfozan allegedly planted the listening device “no later than on or about September 28, 2026.”
The conference room Alfozan targeted “can be reserved only by executives and executive assistants,” and is typically used “for internal leadership meetings,” “technical and product sessions,” and “external briefings” with business partners and government officials, according to the complaint. It is frequently used for discussions involving “highly confidential” information, including about research, products, business strategy, and government relationships, the complaint stated.
OpenAI’s statement called the recording device “sophisticated.” Authorities allege that the device Alfozan planted was called Seeed XIAO ESP32-S3 Sense, “a thumb-sized development board with a detachable camera sensor, digital microphone, and microSD storage.” It currently retails on Seeed’s website for $13.99. OpenAI’s security team tried to export the data stored on the microSD card, but were unable to review it because it was encrypted.
After discovering the device, OpenAI says it notified the FBI and was able to connect it to Alfozan after reviewing chat logs and surveillance footage, and searching a bag he left unattended at the office. The company then gradually disabled his access to company systems as the investigation was ongoing.
According to the complaint, OpenAI security personnel discovered the bag that Alfozan left unattended in a printer room on October 5. The security team went through the bag, which contained a second encrypted Seeed listening device and other personal items connected to Alfozan, including his wallet. Prosecutors say Alfozan later reported the bag as missing to OpenAI and subsequently recovered it from the company’s lost and found.
He followed up with unnamed personnel at OpenAI to say that some of the items that were supposed to be in the bag were still missing—including a credit card, about $500 in cash, and two AirPods—but neglected to mention the second listening device, which had been removed from the bag by OpenAI security.
