A Saudi national working for OpenAI has been arrested on suspicion of planting a listening device in a conference room where company secrets are often discussed, the company and the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday.
The FBI is investigating the case.
The recording device was discovered two weeks ago and had apparently been placed in a conference room about two days earlier, investigators said. It was plugged into a USB port on the back of a television and concealed in toilet paper.
Security cameras filmed the 35-year-old employee near the conference room in late September, although he was not authorized to enter it, according to the Justice Department. Investigators also released an image showing him later attempting to look behind the television.
Investigators found that queries about recording devices had been made with a chatbot account associated with the employee's wife. The chat history also contained details matching the device found in the conference room, the department said.
If convicted, the employee faces up to five years in prison and a fine of up to $250,000.
Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton said the case underscored the importance of winning the race to develop artificial intelligence for U.S. national security. President Donald Trump has also assigned Clayton a central role in AI oversight.
The case comes after an AI researcher who has since become a whistleblower suggested that Chinese spies had infiltrated major AI laboratories at OpenAI and Anthropic. He provided no evidence to support the allegation.