A federal judge on Monday ordered Abdulrahman Alfozan, a 35-year-old former OpenAI engineer, to remain in custody, accused of planting a listening device in an executive conference room at the San Francisco-based company. The magistrate questioned the reliability of a $1 million bond offered by the Saudi government, noting that Alfozan may have access to much greater wealth. Prosecutors allege he was in frequent communication with a member of the Saudi Royal Family who was trying to recruit him for an AI initiative in Saudi Arabia. Alfozan was arrested by the FBI on October 9 and faces one count of using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications, carrying a maximum of five years in prison. His base salary at OpenAI was $385,000, plus a $2.2 million new-hire equity grant.
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