According to reports, the San Francisco Police Department said in a statement that the Molotov cocktails set fire to an exterior gate of Altman’s home in the early hours of the morning. The suspect then fled on foot but was found about an hour later, shortly after 5 a.m., threatening to burn down the OpenAI headquarters. Altman’s house is in the North Beach area of the city, and its value is estimated at 27 million dollars.
OpenAI, best known for developing the popular chatbot ChatGPT, confirmed the incident in a statement. “Early this morning, someone threw a Molotov cocktail at Sam Altman’s home and also threatened our headquarters in San Francisco. Fortunately, no one was hurt,” a spokesperson said. “We greatly appreciate the speed with which the police responded and the support from the municipality in helping to keep our employees safe. The person is in custody, and we are assisting law enforcement in their investigation.”
OpenAI sent a memo informing employees of the incident, telling them there was no immediate threat to them or other offices. The memorandum also stated that there would be increased police presence and security around its offices in Mission Bay.
Last year, OpenAI temporarily shut down its San Francisco offices after the company reported a threat from a man formerly associated with an anti-AI activist group.