San Francisco police arrested a person early on Friday morning for allegedly attacking the house of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman and making threats outdoors of the corporate’s headquarters, a spokesperson confirmed to WIRED. OpenAI’s company safety staff despatched a word to workers concerning the incident on Friday.
“At roughly 3:45am PT, an unidentified particular person approached Sam’s residence and threw an incendiary machine towards the property. The machine landed close by and extinguished. There have been no accidents and solely minimal injury was reported,” the message to employees reads.
“Shortly afterward, a person matching the suspect’s description was contacted by safety outdoors MB1,” the message continues, referring to OpenAI’s headquarters in San Francisco’s Mission Bay neighborhood. “This individual made threatening statements concerning the constructing.”
OpenAI’s company safety staff instructed employees it’s cooperating with regulation enforcement on an investigation, and that workers could discover an elevated police and safety presence across the workplace on Friday. The safety staff mentioned that the corporate’s places of work stay open, however workers had been suggested to “not let anybody tailgate into the constructing.”
The San Francisco Police Division didn’t reply to a request for remark. In a press release shared on social media, the police mentioned that at roughly 4:12 am, officers responded to a fireplace investigation within the North Seashore neighborhood of San Francisco. An “incendiary machine” had been thrown at a residential property, which triggered an exterior gate to gentle on hearth. The suspect fled on foot.
Lower than an hour later, an individual who police acknowledged as the identical suspect was discovered outdoors of OpenAI’s places of work threatening to burn down the constructing. Officers detained the suspect, an unidentified 20-year-old male, and arrested him on the scene.
No accidents have been reported, and prices are nonetheless pending, SFPD mentioned within the assertion.
“Early this morning, somebody threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s house and in addition made threats at our San Francisco headquarters. Fortunately, nobody was damage,” mentioned OpenAI spokesperson Kayla Wooden in an e-mail to WIRED. “We deeply recognize how rapidly SFPD responded and the help from the town in serving to maintain our workers protected. The person is in custody, and we’re helping regulation enforcement with their investigation.”
That is the newest incident wherein OpenAI’s workplace and employees have been threatened. In November of final yr, OpenAI locked down its San Francisco workplace following an alleged risk from an activist. In February 2025, protesters had been arrested for locking the entrance doorways to OpenAI’s workplace.
Lauren Goode contributed reporting.
