OpenAI said a man was arrested Friday after a Molotov cocktail was thrown at CEO Sam Altman’s home in San Francisco. The company also reported that threats were made to its San Francisco headquarters. OpenAI is known for its AI tool ChatGPT.
“Thankfully, no one was hurt,” OpenAI said, and expressed gratitude for the San Francisco Police Department’s response.
Police arrested a 20-year-old in connection with the incident; officials have not released his name and no charges have yet been filed. Altman has not commented on the arrest.
The San Francisco Chronicle reported firefighters were called just before 4 a.m. and found security guards had already extinguished a fire at the home’s exterior gate. The suspect fled before firefighters arrived, the paper said.
About an hour after the attack, police responded to a separate report of a man threatening to burn down the building housing OpenAI’s headquarters. Authorities identified and arrested the same individual, the Chronicle reported.
OpenAI spokesperson Jamie Radice said the company is cooperating with law enforcement. “We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe. The individual is in custody,” Radice said.
Edited by: Alex Berry