Grok Digs Deep into OpenAI Wiretapping Suspect: Once Consulted for Saudi Institution, Also Serves as Venture Capital Partner

Beating AI News Flash: After OpenAI engineer Abdulrahman Alfozan was arrested on suspicion of eavesdropping on executive meetings, X blogger KanekoaTheGreat used Grok to investigate his public activities over the past decade or more, including X, LinkedIn, GitHub, Hacker News, and Arabic-language interviews. The investigation found that this engineer not only held long-term positions at American tech companies, but also maintained close ties with Saudi Arabia's tech and investment circles.

As early as 2018, Alfozan gave an interview in which he described regularly gathering with other Saudi engineers working in Silicon Valley and moonlighting as a consultant for Saudi companies. He also co-founded the Saudi Silicon Valley technical consulting project, helping Saudi institutions evaluate technical solutions, build data systems, and recruit talent. The project still has a publicly available introductory document that lists him as a team member, noting that he was then employed at Facebook and that his expertise included machine learning and the Internet of Things. The blogger also found a promotional video released by the Saudi government during Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's visit to the United States, in which he appeared.

Another noteworthy item on his résumé is that in February 2025 he joined Saudi venture capital firm Raed Ventures as a Venture Partner, and in July of the same year he joined OpenAI. Raed's official website still lists him as a team member and describes him as responsible for AI Agent and data platform engineering. The firm had co-invested with Sanabil Investments, which is under Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund, in fintech company SiFi. In September of this year, Alfozan also appeared on a 93-minute Arabic-language podcast, reviewing his career journey from MIT and Meta to OpenAI.