Police arrest a suspect in a Molotov attack at OpenAI CEO's San Francisco home

Open AI CEO Sam Altman speaks during Snowflake Summit 2025 at Moscone Center on June 2, 2025 in San Francisco, California. (Justin Sullivan/Getty Images via CNN Newsource)

SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. — A 20-year-old man suspected of throwing a Molotov cocktail at OpenAI CEO Sam Altman’s San Francisco home and making threats at the company’s headquarters was arrested Friday, police and the company said.

Officers went to the home for a fire investigation shortly after 4 a.m. Friday, where someone had thrown an incendiary device, setting an exterior gate on fire, and then fled on foot, police said.

Less than an hour later, police were called to a business in a different part of town where a man had reportedly threatened to burn down the building. Officers recognized the man as the same suspect and detained him, the police department posted on social media. Police haven’t publicly identified the man.

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OpenAI, the creator of ChatGPT, released a statement confirming that the home belongs to Altman and that the threats were made at the company’s headquarters. No one was hurt in the incident, the company said, and OpenAI is assisting in the investigation.

Charges have not yet been filed and the police department did not immediately release additional details about the investigation.

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The Associated Press