Police arrested a 20-year-old man suspected of throwing a Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s San Francisco home, then making threats at the company’s headquarters, police and the company said.
Officers responded to Altman’s home shortly after 4 a.m. Friday after someone threw an incendiary device, police said. The device set fire to an exterior gate before the suspect fled on foot.
Less than an hour later, authorities were called to a business elsewhere in the city after a report that a man threatened to burn down the building, police said. Police said officers recognized the man as the same suspect and detained him.
OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, confirmed in a statement that Altman’s home belongs to him and that threats were made at the company’s headquarters. The company said no one was hurt and that it is assisting in the investigation.
Authorities have not charged the arrested suspect or released details about him, including his name or a possible motive.
In its statement, OpenAI said, “We deeply appreciate how quickly SFPD responded and the support from the city in helping keep our employees safe.”
Altman, the co-founder and CEO of OpenAI, has become a prominent technology figure in Silicon Valley. In 2023, OpenAI fired him after a review found he was “not consistently candid in his communications” with the board, and he was rehired days later, returning as CEO under a different board of directors. The AP report characterized Altman as a controversial figure, noting that the attack came days after The New Yorker published an investigation that touched on concerns some people have about him and the company.