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---
aliases:
- عبدالرحمن الفوزان
- Abdulrahman Al Fozan
category: "Technologists"
tags:
- Person
- OpenAI
- ArtificialIntelligence
- Counterintelligence
- SaudiArabia
- RAEDVentures
- Nash
- SurveillanceDevice
summary: "OpenAI engineer and RAED Ventures venture partner charged in October 2026 with using a device to intercept oral communications, after prosecutors said he hid a recorder in an OpenAI executive conference room."
location: "San Francisco, California"
created: 2026-10-13
updated: 2026-10-13
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[OpenAI]]"
role: "engineering lead on the product team"
start: 2025-07
fn: 24
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Nash (company)]]"
role: "founding engineer"
start: 2022
end: 2025-08
fn: 7
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Meta Platforms]]"
role: "senior systems engineer"
start: 2017
end: 2022
fn: 7
- type: partner_of
with: "[[RAED Ventures]]"
role: "venture partner"
start: 2025-02-08
fn: 4
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[Department of Justice]]"
reverse: true
start: 2026-10-13
fn: 1
- type: investigated
with: "[[Federal Bureau of Investigation]]"
reverse: true
fn: 1
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Saudi Data Community]]"
role: "second place, Saudi COVID-19 Challenge (#تحدي_كوفيد١٩)"
start: 2020-04-12
end: 2020-04-12
fn: 10
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Homathon]]"
role: "first place, as listed on his LinkedIn profile"
start: 2020-04
end: 2020-05
fn: 2
- type: participant_in
with: "[[PyData Riyadh]]"
role: "speaker on MLflow"
start: 2020-08
end: 2020-10
fn: 15
---
Abdulrahman Alfozan is a Saudi national and software engineer who, according to [[OpenAI]], worked on the product team at the company's [[San Francisco]] offices from July 2025 until his arrest. The [[United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California]] announced on October 13, 2026 that he was arrested on October 9 and charged with using or attempting to use a device to intercept oral communications. He is also a venture partner at [[RAED Ventures]], an early-stage investor focused on the region.[^1]
### Education
A [[LinkedIn]] profile under his name lists the [[Massachusetts Institute of Technology]] and [[University of California, Berkeley]] among his schools.[^2] The [[CNN]] report on the arrest cites the same profile for both institutions.[^3] RAED Ventures' announcement of his venture role says he "studied computer science and engineering at MIT."[^4] The profile lists MIT projects from 2012 and 2013: MAS.863, a digital fabrication course that he attended in the fall of 2012; Lounge, a web-based housing platform for undergraduate dormitories that placed second in the MIT 2013 iCampus competition; and work at the [[MIT Center for Wireless Networks and Mobile Computing]] on protecting RFID tags through channel randomization.[^2] The profile also lists a poster at EECScon, the first annual MIT Course 6 undergraduate research conference, held April 16, 2013. The conference guide lists the poster as "The automated room project: a multidisciplinary modular design experiment," with the supervisor given as "Self." The abstract describes room automation gadgets built with 3D printing, laser cutting, PCB design, microcontroller programming and networking, among them an automated curtain, a keyless door entry system and music-driven lights.[^5] His LinkedIn profile gives the conference date as January 2013 and titles the poster "Low-Cost Software-Defined Radio for 8-bit Microcontrollers."[^2] The profile also lists a [[King Abdullah University of Science and Technology]] (KAUST) Gifted Students Scholarship, described as a university full scholarship under the KAUST Gifted Students Program,[^6] and a finalist entry at the 2009 [[Intel International Science and Engineering Fair]].[^2] Research internships are listed at KAUST and at [[Nanyang Technological University]] in [[Singapore]].[^2]
The [[San Francisco Standard]] reported that the LinkedIn profile gives a master's degree in data science from UC Berkeley.[^7]
### Saudi Competitions, Scholarships and Talks
Two separate Saudi competitions of spring 2020 appear in his record.
The first is the Saudi COVID-19 Challenge, run by the [[Saudi Data Community]] (المجموعة السعودية للبيانات), which describes itself as a community initiative of data specialists and enthusiasts.[^8] A public GitHub README for another participant's entry states that the challenge was held by the community on March 15, 2020, asked entrants for a report using open COVID-19 data, and had more than 150 participants.[^9] Alfozan placed second; the community's account on X congratulated him on April 12, 2020 for second place in the "#تحدي_كوفيد١٩" (COVID-19 challenge) and, the same day, congratulated a different participant for third place.[^10] His public GitHub repository "COVID-19-notebook," described as the "Saudi COVID-19 Notebook," links the challenge announcement and the April 12 post.[^11] His LinkedIn profile lists the entry as "Saudi COVID-19 Challenge, Mar 2020, 2nd place, $50k prize."[^2]
The second is the Homathon, an online hackathon run by the [[Saudi Federation for Cybersecurity, Programming and Drones]] (SAFCSP) with a registration period of April 14 to 18, 2020 and an event period of April 19 to 25, 2020.[^12][^13] The launch coverage gave a total prize pool of $85,000, with $50,000 for first place, $25,000 for second and $15,000 for third.[^13] His LinkedIn profile lists "Homathon COVID-19 Challenge, issued by safcsp.org.sa, May 2020, 1st place," with a link to homathon.com.[^2] A team of two engineering alumnae of [[Alfaisal University]] placed third with a project called "Raqeeb."[^14] The Homathon's English homepage lists [[Abdullah bin Sharaf Alghamdi]], president of the [[Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority]] (SDAIA), among its speakers, and Alfaisal University states that the Homathon was set up by the federation "in collaboration with the Saudi Data and Artificial Intelligence Authority."[^12][^14]
The profile dates an Intel International Science and Engineering Fair finalist entry to May 2009 and a WorldSkills International Medallion for Excellence in IT/Software Applications to September 2009.[^2]
The profile lists talks at [[PyData Riyadh]] in 2020. PyData Riyadh announced on August 12, 2020 a talk on [[MLflow]] by "@alfozan, Systems Engineer at Facebook," and a second MLflow session on October 14, 2020 ("As per your demands we have @alfozan back with us for MLflow part 2").[^15] The profile also lists talks at the [[Spark + AI Summit]] in 2019 and 2020.[^2]
The profile lists a KAUST research internship in the Networking Research Lab from June to August 2016.[^2]
### Reach Labs and Internships
According to the San Francisco Standard, the LinkedIn profile lists him as a systems engineer at [[Reach Labs]], a wireless power startup in the [[Y Combinator]] summer 2015 batch, and as an intern at [[Microsoft]], [[SAP]] in [[Berlin]] and [[Akamai Technologies]].[^7]
### Technical Background
The LinkedIn profile lists a software engineering internship at Akamai Technologies from June to August 2012 in Cambridge, Massachusetts. It says he "Developed sherlock, a policy-aware tool for network packets capturing on Windows servers" and "Deployed sherlock on the internal Akamai network targeting over 15,000 servers."[^2]
The profile lists a 2015 role as systems engineer at Reach Labs, where he "Led the design and development of novel long-range phased-arrays wireless charging solutions" and worked on "energy receivers with real-time power tracking."[^2] The Y Combinator company page describes Reach Labs as "building long-range wireless power networks that deliver scalable, resilient energy infrastructure" and lists the company in the Summer 2015 batch.[^16]
### GitHub
The public [[GitHub]] account "alfozan," created August 15, 2011, carries the name Abdulrahman Alfozan, the company "OpenAI," the location San Francisco, CA, and the X username alfozan. It lists 16 public repositories, 0 public gists and 117 followers, and membership in three organizations: prestodb, bitsence (created August 28, 2016) and Andal-us (display name "Andalus," location "Riyadh / Dubai," created March 2, 2017).[^17]
His own repositories include COVID-19-notebook (created May 2, 2020), Air-Quality-Dashboard (March 2020, for an Awair sensor), mlflow-example (August 2020), trending-dashboard (June 2021), AI-file-renamer (December 2025), WhatsApp-Local-Viewer (February 2026, "Local read-only Flask app to browse WhatsApp backup chats and media") and python-project-template (May 2025). Forks include openai-agents-python (April 2026), openai/plugins (May 2026), opentelemetry-python-contrib (May 2026), pyngrok (forked August 14, 2020), spark and mlflow.[^17]
The public event stream shows pull requests by the account to openai/openai-cookbook (all times UTC): number 3106 opened and merged on September 16, 2026; 3109 opened September 17 and merged September 17; 3127 opened September 22 and merged September 23; 3134 opened September 25 and merged September 26; and 3140 opened at 17:33 and merged at 17:45 on September 29, 2026. An issue comment on openai/plugins was posted on September 29, 2026 at 00:53.[^17]
### Meta
The LinkedIn profile lists him as a senior systems engineer at [[Meta Platforms]] from 2017 to 2022.[^2][^7] RAED Ventures' announcement describes five years at Meta as a senior engineer specializing in machine learning and data platforms.[^4] The profile lists him as a speaker at the Spark + AI Summit in 2019 and in 2020, and lists an entry titled Spark Fast Transforms among his Meta work on [[Apache Spark]].[^2] The 2019 talk, "Powering Custom Apps at Facebook using Spark Script Transformation," has a slide deck on the [[Databricks]] account on [[SlideShare]], whose title slide reads "Abdulrahman Alfozan, Spark Summit Europe." The deck describes Spark script transformations as a more flexible alternative to user-defined functions and traces Spark's use at Facebook from experiments in 2015 to full production in 2018.[^18] The 2020 talk is listed under the title "Securing Apache Spark Applications at Facebook."[^2]
### Nash
The LinkedIn profile lists him as a founding engineer at [[Nash (company)]] from 2022 to August 2025.[^2][^7] Nash is a delivery-logistics API company founded by [[Mahmoud Ghulman]] and [[Aziz Alghunaim]]. [[Andreessen Horowitz]] partnered with the company on a seed round in the fall of 2021, and on July 26, 2022 announced a $20 million Series A round that the firm also led, bringing total funding to $27.8 million.[^19][^20] Both co-founders are described as having attended MIT.[^19][^20]
### RAED Ventures
RAED Ventures describes itself as an early-stage investor in the MENA region.[^21] Its announcement of Alfozan as a venture partner describes him as then a founding engineer at Nash, quotes [[Omar Almajdouie]] as the firm's founding partner, and says that "he will focus on identifying promising investment opportunities." The page's structured metadata gives February 8, 2025 as the publication date, and the Internet Archive holds a capture dated March 23, 2025.[^4] The [[Altss]] investment platform describes RAED as offering "access to Saudi and GCC markets."[^21]
On October 13, 2026 [[Scott Stedman]] wrote on X that Alfozan is a venture partner at RAED Ventures, "which has received funding from Saudi government-backed entities." Stedman wrote that the firm "has a Saudi royal family member, Prince Khalid bin Bader Al Saud, as a venture partner."[^22] In a second post the same day, Stedman wrote that [[Khalid bin Bader Al Saud]] "appears to be the son of Brigadier General Prince Bader bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud," who in Stedman's account served in the special operations section of [[Saudi Arabia]]'s General Intelligence Agency. Stedman also wrote that Khalid "also founded [[Echelon (company)]], an AI company that says it serves Saudi government and defense customers."[^23]
### OpenAI
OpenAI's spokesperson, [[Nate Evans]], told [[TechCrunch]] that Alfozan started with the company in July 2025 and worked on the product team.[^24] A LinkedIn entry for the OpenAI role gives September 2025 as the start month, which differs from the company's date.[^2] The [[Smashi Business]] post described below calls him an Engineering Lead in San Francisco.[^25]
Between April 15 and May 7, 2026 the GitHub account "alfozan" opened six pull requests to the openai-agents-python repository, including "feat: add BoxMount support" (pull request 2988, April 21, 2026), "Update examples and defaults to GPT-5.5" (3016, April 23, 2026) and "fix: Responses context-management extra_args collision" (3185, May 7, 2026).[^26]
### The Smashi Business Post
On September 12, 2026 the Smashi Business account on X published a post stating that Alfozan "is currently the only Saudi employee at OpenAI, where he works as an Engineering Lead in San Francisco." The post says that Alfozan spoke in a video about his team's first product launch, and it quotes his advice to Saudis entering AI: "Computer science remains the most suitable major."[^25] The San Francisco Standard reported that a YouTube video the previous month had touted him as the only Saudi employee at OpenAI.[^7] In his October 13 post Stedman wrote that he had been told by a source that Alfozan was OpenAI's only Saudi employee.[^22]
### The Recording Device
The [[Department of Justice|Justice Department]]'s release summarizes the complaint as alleging that OpenAI personnel found a device, called Recording Device 1 in the complaint (OpenAI is "Company 1" in the complaint, according to the Northern District of California's version of the release), on September 30, 2026. It was inserted into a USB port on the back of a television in an executive conference room in one of the company's San Francisco buildings, and it was concealed in toilet paper. OpenAI determined that the device was installed on or about September 28, and that its contents were encrypted.[^1] The [[Associated Press]] and TechCrunch report the same details from the complaint.[^24][^27]
According to the complaint, closed-circuit footage showed Alfozan near the conference room on multiple dates before the discovery, although he had no authority to enter the room or attend meetings held there. The complaint describes those meetings as frequently involving highly confidential technical, commercial and strategic information, including proprietary research, product plans, business-development opportunities, and nonpublic information about OpenAI's capabilities, priorities, "government engagements" and commercial relationships.[^1][^28] AP reported that a camera added to the room after the discovery captured him entering the room and checking behind the television, according to the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation|FBI]].[^27] A photograph published with the TechCrunch report carries the overlay "2026-10-05 13:20:47" to "13:21:30."[^24]
The complaint alleges that before September 28 Alfozan used a productivity tool to make multiple inquiries about OpenAI's building addresses, meeting rooms, meeting-room capacities and calendars, the locations of "leadership and exec" offices, and external partner meetings.[^1][^28] It further alleges that a chatbot account associated with Alfozan's spouse, which shared multiple identifiers and attributes with his own chatbot account, submitted prompts between September 24 and September 30 about building, customizing, installing, audio recording, testing, obfuscating and remotely accessing a device. The quoted prompts include "build[ing] a continuous audio recorder," "customiz[ing] Wi-Fi . . . connectivity," "improv[ing] audio and live listening," and "encrypt[ing] the SD card." On September 27 and 28 the same account submitted prompts about Recording Device 1, including its custom header and unique MAC address.[^1][^28][^29]
On October 5, the complaint alleges, Alfozan entered the executive conference room and appeared to look behind the television where the device had been inserted. The same day he left a bag unattended in a different room in an OpenAI building. Security personnel who opened it found his wallet and identification, along with a second recording device similar to the first.[^1]
### Arrest and Charge
Alfozan, 35, was arrested on Friday, October 9, 2026.[^1] OpenAI said that it fired him that day and coordinated the timing with the FBI so as not to disrupt the investigation. According to OpenAI, it had gradually restricted his access to systems and spaces from September 30, then suspended his physical and network access, placed him on leave and secured his company-issued equipment.[^7] He made his initial appearance in federal court on October 13 and remains in custody.[^27]
The charge is using or endeavoring to use an electronic, mechanical or other device to intercept oral communications, under 18 U.S.C. § 2511(1)(b).[^28] If convicted, he faces a maximum of five years in prison, a $250,000 fine and three years of supervised release.[^1] Assistant U.S. Attorney [[Nicolas Parker]] of the Northern District of California is prosecuting the case with assistance from Trial Attorney [[Kate Tagert]] of the [[National Security Division]]'s Counterintelligence and Export Control Section.[^1] The release states that the prosecution is in support of National Security Presidential Memorandum 11 ([[NSPM-11]]), "designed to support American superiority in super intelligence technology."[^1] The memorandum, signed June 5, 2026, is titled "Artificial Intelligence in the National Security Enterprise" and uses the terms "artificial intelligence" and "AI" throughout.[^30] Executive Order 14434 of September 29, 2026 directs executive agencies to use "Super Intelligence" and "SI" in place of "Artificial Intelligence" and "AI."[^31] A detention hearing before U.S. Magistrate Judge [[Alex G. Tse]] is set for October 19, 2026.[^7]
### Statements
[[Kash Patel]], the director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation, said: "According to the complaint unsealed today, Abdulrahman Alfozan allegedly concealed a covert recording device inside his employer's executive conference room to secretly capture sensitive communications about the company's super intelligence technology." He added that "the FBI views that mission as one of our highest counterintelligence priorities," and thanked "Director of National Intelligence Jay Clayton and our law enforcement partners."[^1][^28]
U.S. Attorney [[Craig Missakian]] said: "For us it is a matter of national security. This arrest highlights our relentless efforts in partnership with the FBI to identify and prosecute those who seek to steal our technology, as alleged in the complaint."[^1] [[Scott Schelble]], special agent in charge of the FBI's San Francisco field office, said the agency is committed to protecting sensitive research and proprietary technology.[^7] [[Jay Clayton]], the Director of National Intelligence, called winning the global super intelligence race a national security prerogative and credited the president's leadership in creating the Super Intelligence Force.[^1]
OpenAI said on X: "At this time, we have no indications of this individual inappropriately accessing or exfiltrating model weights, source code, or customer data."[^24] The company described the device as "sophisticated" and said it contained "advanced encryption, audio monitoring capabilities, and a mechanism for transferring data designed to evade monitoring."[^24] Its spokesperson said that employees used the company's models to analyze the device and identified "that a specific employee had planted it a few days earlier."[^27] OpenAI also said it has evidence that Alfozan intended to place other recording devices in sensitive spaces to secretly record meetings.[^7] The company said it treats protecting its technology, data and people as "a matter of national importance."[^7]
### Footnotes
[^1]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "Saudi National Arrested for Installing Surreptitious Audio Recording Device at OpenAI," October 13, 2026, press release 26-1173. https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/saudi-national-arrested-installing-surreptitious-audio-recording-device-openai
[^2]: Abdulrahman Alfozan, LinkedIn profile, viewed October 13, 2026. https://www.linkedin.com/in/alfozan
[^3]: CNN Business, "OpenAI employee arrested for allegedly hiding a 'sophisticated recording device' in its office," October 13, 2026. https://www.cnn.com/2026/10/13/business/openai-recording-device
[^4]: RAED Ventures, "Raed Ventures Welcomes New Venture Partner, Abdulrahman Alfozan," news page, with publication metadata dated February 8, 2025. https://raed.vc/news/raed-ventures-welcomes-new-venture-partner-abdulrahman-alfozan/ ; Internet Archive capture of March 23, 2025: https://web.archive.org/web/20250323022105/https://raed.vc/news/raed-ventures-welcomes-new-venture-partner-abdulrahman-alfozan/
[^5]: MIT Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, EECScon 2013 guide ("The First Annual Course 6 Undergraduate Research Conference"), April 16, 2013, poster presentations, p. 11. Copy: https://web.archive.org/web/2013id_/http://www.eecs.mit.edu/docs/eecscon/guide2013.pdf (live URL https://www.eecs.mit.edu/docs/eecscon/guide2013.pdf)
[^6]: KAUST Gifted Students Program, program site. https://kgsp.kaust.edu.sa/
[^7]: "OpenAI engineer arrested in bugging of executive conference room," *San Francisco Standard,* October 13, 2026. https://sfstandard.com/2026/10/13/openai-engineer-arrested-alleged-bugging-executive-conference-room/
[^8]: Saudi Data Community, "About Us," Arabic page, Wayback capture March 21, 2019. https://web.archive.org/web/20190321144025/http://www.datacommunitysa.com/about ; the Arabic text: "المجموعة السعودية للبيانات هي مبادرة مجتمعية تضم مجموعة من المتخصصين والمهتمين في مجال البيانات" (the Saudi Data Community is a community initiative made up of specialists and enthusiasts in data). The X profile reads "Joined June 2017."
[^9]: Public GitHub repository "covid19_challenge" README (another participant's report), describing a challenge "held by the @DataCommunitySA on March 15th, 2020" with "150+ participants." https://github.com/IbtihalFerwana/covid19_challenge
[^10]: Saudi Data Community (@DataCommunitySA), post on X, April 12, 2020, congratulating "عبدالرحمن الفوزان @alfozan" on second place in "#تحدي_كوفيد١٩" (status 1249403005776117761). https://web.archive.org/web/2020id_/https://twitter.com/DataCommunitySA/status/1249403005776117761 ; same-day post for a third-place participant, status 1249400618676076552.
[^11]: Alfozan, public GitHub repository "COVID-19-notebook," README, linking the challenge announcement (status 1238903883000356870) and the report post (status 1249403005776117761). https://github.com/alfozan/COVID-19-notebook
[^12]: Homathon, English homepage, captured May 6, 2020. https://web.archive.org/web/20200506171154/https://homathon.com/en/
[^13]: Ajel (English), "SAFCSP launches Homathon Challenge Contest," undated, covering the launch in mid-April 2020. https://english.ajel.sa/news/safcsp-launches-homathon-challenge-contest
[^14]: Alfaisal University, "Two College of Engineering Alumnae Win the 3rd Place in SAFCSP Homathon," November 2, 2020. https://news.alfaisal.edu/?p=3573
[^15]: PyData Riyadh, posts on X, August 12, 2020 talk announcement (status 1291043529146466304) and October 2020 MLflow part 2 announcement (status 1314841078999154689), captured 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/2021id_/https://twitter.com/PyDataRiyadh/status/1291043529146466304 ; https://web.archive.org/web/2021id_/https://twitter.com/PyDataRiyadh/status/1314841078999154689
[^16]: Y Combinator, "Reach: Long range, wireless energy distribution that scales," company profile, Summer 2015 batch. https://www.ycombinator.com/companies/reach-labs
[^17]: GitHub REST API, user "alfozan," organizations, repositories and public events, retrieved October 13, 2026. https://api.github.com/users/alfozan ; https://api.github.com/users/alfozan/orgs ; https://api.github.com/users/alfozan/repos ; https://api.github.com/users/alfozan/events/public
[^18]: Databricks, "Powering Custom Apps at Facebook using Spark Script Transformation," slide deck. https://www.slideshare.net/databricks/powering-custom-apps-at-facebook-using-spark-script-transformation
[^19]: Andreessen Horowitz, "Investing in Nash," July 26, 2022. https://a16z.com/announcement/investing-in-nash/
[^20]: TechCrunch, "Nash raises cash to help merchants manage local deliveries," July 26, 2022. https://techcrunch.com/2022/07/26/nash-raises-cash-to-help-merchants-manage-local-deliveries/
[^21]: Altss, "RAED Ventures," investment platform profile. https://altss.com/profile/raed-ventures ; RAED Ventures, "About." https://raed.vc/about/
[^22]: Scott Stedman, post on X, October 13, 2026. https://x.com/scottstedman/status/2110102749526573398
[^23]: Scott Stedman, second post on X, October 13, 2026. https://x.com/scottstedman/status/2110106692914696402
[^24]: TechCrunch, "FBI arrests OpenAI employee accused of planting hidden recording device in conference room," October 13, 2026. https://techcrunch.com/2026/10/13/fbi-arrests-openai-employee-accused-of-planting-hidden-recording-device-in-conference-room/
[^25]: Smashi Business, post on X, September 12, 2026. https://x.com/smashibusiness/status/2098758379091153118
[^26]: GitHub, pull requests by the author alfozan in openai/openai-agents-python, queried October 13, 2026. https://api.github.com/search/issues?q=repo:openai/openai-agents-python+author:alfozan
[^27]: Associated Press, "Employee arrested after listening device found in OpenAI conference room, FBI and the company say," October 13, 2026. https://www.clickorlando.com/tech/2026/10/13/employee-arrested-after-listening-device-found-in-openai-conference-room-fbi-and-the-company-say/
[^28]: U.S. Attorney's Office, Northern District of California, "Saudi National Arrested for Installing Surreptitious Audio Recording Device at OpenAI," October 13, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/saudi-national-arrested-installing-surreptitious-audio-recording-device-openai-san
[^29]: BNO News, "Saudi national working at OpenAI arrested for bugging executive conference room," October 13, 2026. https://bnonews.com/index.php/2026/10/saudi-national-working-at-openai-arrested-for-bugging-executive-conference-room/
[^30]: The White House, "National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-11," signed June 5, 2026. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/06/national-security-presidential-memorandum-nspm-11/
[^31]: Executive Order 14434, "Inaugurating the Era of Super Intelligence," The White House, September 29, 2026. https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/09/inaugurating-the-era-of-super-intelligence/

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---
aliases:
- Ahmad Abouammo
category: "Criminals & Offenders"
tags:
- Person
- Twitter
- SaudiArabia
- ForeignAgent
- Espionage
- FederalCase
summary: "Former Twitter media partnerships manager convicted in 2022 of acting as an agent of Saudi Arabia after accepting payments and a watch from a royal court official; resentenced to time served in 2025."
location: "Seattle, Washington"
created: 2026-10-13
updated: 2026-10-13
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Twitter]]"
role: "media partnerships manager"
start: 2013-11
end: 2015-05
fn: 4
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[United States Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California]]"
reverse: true
start: 2019-11-19
fn: 1
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Twitter Saudi espionage case]]"
role: "defendant"
start: 2019-11-19
fn: 1
---
Ahmad Abouammo is a United States citizen who worked as a media partnerships manager at [[Twitter]] from November 2013 until May 2015. He was convicted in August 2022 of acting as an agent of the [[Saudi Arabia|Kingdom of Saudi Arabia]], among other counts, and sentenced to 42 months in prison in the [[Twitter Saudi espionage case]]. After the [[United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit]] vacated the sentence he was resentenced on June 26, 2025 to time served.[^1][^2][^3]
### Employment and access
The complaint describes Abouammo as a United States citizen who lived in the Northern District of California from November 2013 until May 22, 2015, and then in Seattle.[^4] The Justice Department described his position as Media Partnerships Manager for the Middle East and North Africa region.[^5] His role gave him access to Twitter's internal systems, through which he could search for users by username and view their email addresses, telephone numbers and IP addresses.[^2] The complaint alleges that he used that access without any legitimate business purpose.[^4]
Abouammo arranged a tour of the San Francisco office for a group of Saudi visitors in June 2014. The official who attended the tour later had contact with him directly.[^6] In December 2014 Abouammo met [[Bader al-Asaker]], named in the Ninth Circuit opinion as Bader Binasaker, at a Twitter meeting in London. After that meeting, according to the Ninth Circuit, he accessed the email and phone information for the @mujtahidd account on various occasions.[^2] He left Twitter in May 2015, moved to Seattle and started a freelance social media consultancy.[^2]
### Payments and the watch
The complaint states that the official gave Abouammo a Hublot Unico Big Bang King Gold Ceramic watch in London in December 2014. Abouammo later advertised it online, describing it as worth $35,000 and offering it for no less than $25,000.[^4] He told the FBI that the watch was "plasticky and cheap and worth approximately $500" and that he had received $100,000 from the official. The complaint states that he had received at least $300,000.[^2][^4] The Supreme Court's opinion states that the official wired him $300,000 in total.[^7]
The payments include a $100,000 wire in February 2015 to a Beirut account that the Ninth Circuit describes as opened under his father's name, a $100,000 wire in July 2015 to the same Lebanese account, and a $100,000 wire in January 2016 to a Chase Bank account that Abouammo had opened.[^2][^4] The Justice Department stated at trial that he laundered the February 2015 money by sending it into the United States in small wire transfers with false descriptions.[^5] The superseding indictment charges him with money laundering, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and falsification of records.[^6]
### The FBI interview
On October 20, 2018 two FBI agents interviewed Abouammo at his home in Seattle. He told them that Binasaker worked for MiSK and the Prince Salman Youth Center, and that he had been paid $100,000 for services after leaving Twitter. He then emailed the agents two invoices, the second of which, according to its metadata, was created while he was upstairs retrieving it. That invoice is the document charged under 18 U.S.C. 1519.[^2][^7]
### Trial and sentence
A jury in San Francisco found Abouammo guilty on August 9, 2022 on Count One (acting as an agent of a foreign government), Count Four (conspiracy to commit wire fraud and honest services fraud), Count Eleven (wire fraud), Counts Twenty and Twenty-One (money laundering) and Count Twenty-Three (falsification of records). It acquitted him on five counts of wire fraud, and nine other counts were dismissed without prejudice.[^1][^3]
Judge [[Edward M. Chen]] sentenced him in December 2022 to 42 months in prison, concurrent on each count, with three years of supervised release and forfeiture of $242,000. The advisory Guidelines range was 70 to 87 months.[^2][^8]
### Appeal, resentencing and Supreme Court review
The Ninth Circuit affirmed the convictions and vacated the sentence on December 4, 2024, and remanded for resentencing.[^2] At the resentencing on June 26, 2025 Judge Chen found a Guidelines range of 33 to 41 months and imposed time served on each of the six counts, with two years of supervised release, a $600 special assessment and no fine. The amended judgment of July 2, 2025 retains the $242,000 forfeiture.[^3]
The Supreme Court granted certiorari on the venue question on December 5, 2025. On June 11, 2026 it reversed the Ninth Circuit in No. 25-5146, in a unanimous opinion by Justice Kagan, holding that a prosecution under 18 U.S.C. 1519 must be brought in the district where the falsification occurred, here Seattle, and remanded the case.[^7][^9]
### Footnotes
[^1]: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, "United States v. Ahmad Abouammo," case page. https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/united-states-v-ahmad-abouammo
[^2]: United States v. Abouammo, 122 F.4th 1072, No. 22-10348 (9th Cir. Dec. 4, 2024). https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/12/04/22-10348.pdf
[^3]: United States v. Abouammo, No. 3:19-cr-00621-EMC (N.D. Cal.): minute entry for resentencing (Dkt. 484, June 26, 2025) and amended judgment (Dkt. 482, July 2, 2025). https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.351689/gov.uscourts.cand.351689.482.0.pdf and https://storage.courtlistener.com/recap/gov.uscourts.cand.351689/gov.uscourts.cand.351689.484.0.pdf
[^4]: Criminal complaint and affidavit of FBI Special Agent Letitia Wu, United States v. Abouammo, No. 3:19-mj-71824-MAG (N.D. Cal., filed November 5, 2019). https://justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1215836/download
[^5]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "Former Twitter Employee Found Guilty of Acting as an Agent of a Foreign Government and Unlawfully Sharing Twitter User Information," August 10, 2022 (Wayback Machine capture of December 28, 2022). https://web.archive.org/web/20221228174236id_/https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/former-twitter-employee-found-guilty-acting-agent-foreign-government-and-unlawfully-sharing
[^6]: Superseding indictment, United States v. Abouammo, No. 3:19-cr-00621-EMC, Dkt. 53 (N.D. Cal., filed July 28, 2020). https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/page/file/1299331/dl
[^7]: Abouammo v. United States, 608 U.S. 597, No. 25-5146 (U.S. June 11, 2026). https://www.supremecourt.gov/opinions/25pdf/608us2r46_2c8f.pdf
[^8]: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, "Former Twitter Employee Sentenced To 42 Months In Federal Prison For Acting As A Foreign Agent," December 15, 2022 (Wayback Machine capture of December 28, 2022). https://web.archive.org/web/20221228102034id_/https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/former-twitter-employee-sentenced-42-months-federal-prison-acting-foreign-agent
[^9]: Supreme Court of the United States, docket for No. 25-5146, Abouammo v. United States. https://www.supremecourt.gov/search.aspx?filename=/docket/docketfiles/html/public/25-5146.html

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---
aliases:
- Bader al-Asaker
- Bader Alasaker
- Bader Binasaker
- Bader Al-Asaker
- Bader Al Asaker
category: "Political Figure"
tags:
- Person
- SaudiArabia
- SaudiRoyalCourt
- MiSK
- ForeignAgent
- Twitter
summary: "Saudi official, head of the crown prince's private office and secretary general of the MiSK Foundation; named as Bader Binasaker in the Ninth Circuit's Twitter espionage opinion, not charged."
location: "Riyadh, Saudi Arabia"
created: 2026-10-13
updated: 2026-10-13
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[Private Office of Mohammed bin Salman]]"
start: 2015-05
fn: 3
- type: employed_by
with: "[[MiSK Foundation]]"
role: "secretary general"
start: 2011
fn: 2
- type: director_of
with: "[[Prince Salman Youth Center]]"
role: "general supervisor"
fn: 2
- type: participant_in
with: "[[Twitter Saudi espionage case]]"
role: "identified in the complaint as Foreign Official-1 and in the Ninth Circuit opinion as Bader Binasaker; not a defendant"
fn: 3
---
Bader al-Asaker is a Saudi official who was secretary general of the [[MiSK Foundation]], the charitable foundation of Crown Prince [[Mohammed bin Salman]], and who headed the crown prince's private office. The complaint in the [[Twitter Saudi espionage case]] refers to him as Foreign Official-1. The Ninth Circuit opinion names him as Bader Binasaker, and a 2020 lawsuit by [[Saad Aljabri]] names him as Bader Alasaker. He is not a defendant in the case.[^1][^2]
### Position
The complaint describes Foreign Official-1 as the secretary general of a charitable organization founded by a member of the royal family, and states that by early 2015 he had become the head of that royal family member's private office. The complaint states that on the day of the June 2014 tour he emailed Abouammo about verifying the Twitter account of that royal family member, indicating that he worked for and at the direction of that member with respect to his online presence on the platform, and that from May 3, 2015 he listed the Royal Court as his employer. The superseding indictment gives the same description and dates the private office role to no later than May 2015.[^1][^3] The Justice Department's sentencing release describes the official as the head of the private office of a royal family member who was a Minister of State and then Minister of Defense and Deputy Crown Prince.[^4]
The Ninth Circuit opinion describes Binasaker as a close associate and "right-hand-man" of the crown prince. It states that he was appointed secretary general of MiSK in 2011, that he was general supervisor of the Prince Salman Youth Center, and that he used an email address with the official domain of the crown prince's private office. A government expert at trial, Dr. Kristin Diwan, testified that MiSK and the youth center were "very connected to royal power and trying to forward agendas of the particular royal or of the state."[^2]
A profile in Arab News of May 28, 2018 describes Al-Asaker as secretary general of the MiSK Foundation and of the King Salman Youth Center, and as head of the private office of Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman with the rank of minister since his appointment by royal decree in July 2017. It lists a bachelor's degree from King Saud University, membership of the Council of Saudi Chambers and a role as deputy general director of a Riyadh electronic systems and air conditioning firm, Alasaker for Electronic Systems and AC, established in 1980, and states that more than one million users followed his personal Twitter account.[^5]
### Recruitment of Twitter employees
The complaint states that [[Ahmad Abouammo]] arranged a Twitter tour for Saudi visitors in June 2014, that the official attended, and that the two met in London in December 2014, where the official gave Abouammo a watch.[^1][^3] The Ninth Circuit describes the same London meeting and the same watch, with Binasaker as the official, and states that the two discussed the @mujtahidd account there. Binasaker then sent Abouammo a dossier on the account in an email that referred to a "Mujtahid file."[^2]
The Ninth Circuit describes Binasaker wiring $100,000 in February 2015 to a bank account in Lebanon opened under Abouammo's father's name, a further $100,000 in July 2015 and another $100,000 in January 2016. The complaint describes the payments as made by Foreign Official-1.[^1][^2]
According to the Ninth Circuit, Binasaker submitted an A-2 visa application for diplomatic travelers, describing himself as a "foreign official/employee," when he travelled with a Saudi delegation for meetings at Camp David.[^2]
### Alzabarah
The Ninth Circuit opinion states that [[Ali Alzabarah]] had repeatedly accessed the @mujtahidd account after meeting Binasaker in May 2015. The complaint describes Alzabarah's contact with Foreign Official-1 through [[Ahmed Almutairi]], and the superseding indictment states that Foreign Official-1 contacted an employee of the Saudi Consulate in Los Angeles to coordinate Alzabarah's departure from the United States in December 2015.[^1][^2][^3]
### Aljabri lawsuit
Saad Aljabri's complaint in the United States District Court for the District of Columbia, filed August 6, 2020, describes Bader Alasaker as the head of the crown prince's private office and executive director of the MiSK Foundation, and alleges that he cultivated a network of covert agents whom he deployed to target critics of the crown prince.[^6] The court's opinion of September 30, 2022, in No. 1:20-cv-02146-TJK, summarizes the amended complaint's allegations about him. Aljabri alleged that Alasaker repeatedly called and messaged him in 2017 to coordinate a private jet for his return to Saudi Arabia; that Alasaker oversaw, with bin Salman, the "Tiger Squad" said to have been dispatched to Canada in October 2018; that he traveled to the United States about twice a year, sometimes for MiSK events; that the Twitter employees in the California case were acting on his instructions and he eventually hired one of them for MiSK; and that he and bin Salman used MiSK to recruit Saudi students in the United States as informants. The opinion records that he was named as a defendant, that the court lacked personal jurisdiction over him, and that Aljabri had not plausibly alleged that bin Salman and Alasaker used MiSK to recruit students as agents. It notes that Aljabri did not allege that Alasaker took part in, or witnessed, questioning of a family friend at a MiSK event in New York in September 2017 at which Alasaker was present.[^7]
### Reports of detention
Middle East Eye reported on June 9, 2020 that there were strong indications, from sources outside the kingdom, that Asaker had been arrested, after Saudi activists including Omar Abdulaziz noted that his social media accounts had fallen quiet; his Twitter account posted again on June 8, 2020. The same report states that Turkish media had reported that Maher Mutreb, who led the operatives who killed [[Jamal Khashoggi]], called Asaker four times during the operation. The Saudi government did not comment.[^8]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Criminal complaint and affidavit of FBI Special Agent Letitia Wu, United States v. Abouammo, No. 3:19-mj-71824-MAG (N.D. Cal., filed November 5, 2019). https://justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1215836/download
[^2]: United States v. Abouammo, 122 F.4th 1072, No. 22-10348 (9th Cir. Dec. 4, 2024). https://cdn.ca9.uscourts.gov/datastore/opinions/2024/12/04/22-10348.pdf
[^3]: Superseding indictment, United States v. Abouammo, No. 3:19-cr-00621-EMC, Dkt. 53 (N.D. Cal., filed July 28, 2020). https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/page/file/1299331/dl
[^4]: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Northern District of California, "Former Twitter Employee Sentenced To 42 Months In Federal Prison For Acting As A Foreign Agent," December 15, 2022 (Wayback Machine capture of December 28, 2022). https://web.archive.org/web/20221228102034id_/https://www.justice.gov/usao-ndca/pr/former-twitter-employee-sentenced-42-months-federal-prison-acting-foreign-agent
[^5]: "FaceOf: Bader Al-Asaker, secretary-general of Misk Foundation," Arab News, May 28, 2018 (Wayback Machine capture of June 5, 2019). https://web.archive.org/web/20190605153204id_/http://www.arabnews.com/node/1310756/saudi-arabia
[^6]: Al Jazeera, "Former Saudi spy accuses MBS hit squad of attempting to kill him," August 6, 2020. https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/8/6/former-saudi-spy-accuses-mbs-hit-squad-of-attempting-to-kill-him
[^7]: Memorandum opinion, Aljabri v. Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, No. 1:20-cv-02146-TJK, Dkt. 134 (D.D.C. Sept. 30, 2022). https://tlblog.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/10/Aljabri_Memorandum-opinion-9.30.22.pdf
[^8]: "Saudi crown prince's top aide Bader al-Asaker believed arrested," Middle East Eye, June 2020. https://www.middleeasteye.net/news/saudi-crown-princes-top-aide-bader-al-asaker-believed-arrested

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---
aliases:
- Bader bin Saud
- Bader bin Saud Al Saud
- Bader bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud
- Bader bin Saud bin Mohammed Al-Saud
- Badr bin Saud
- Badr bin Saud Al Saud
- Badr bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud
- بدر بن سعود
category: "Military"
tags:
- Person
- SaudiArabia
- SaudiRoyalFamily
- GeneralIntelligencePresidency
- MinistryOfInterior
- HolyMosqueSecurity
- Hajj
- Columnist
summary: "Saudi brigadier general of the Ministry of Interior special forces, formerly of the General Intelligence Presidency special operations section and assistant commander of Grand Mosque security in Makkah; father of Khalid bin Bader Al Saud."
born: 1969
location: "Makkah, Saudi Arabia"
created: 2026-10-13
updated: 2026-10-13
relations:
- type: employed_by
with: "[[General Intelligence Presidency]]"
role: "special operations section, posting undated"
fn: 1
- type: employed_by
with: "[[Ministry of Interior]]"
role: "assistant commander, special force for the security of the Grand Mosque, Makkah"
start: 2019-06
fn: 2
- type: relative_of
with: "[[Khalid bin Bader Al Saud]]"
role: "son"
start: 1994-09
fn: 11
- type: relative_of
with: "[[Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud]]"
role: "brother (both sons of Saud bin Mohammed)"
fn: 5
---
Prince Bader bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud is a Saudi brigadier general and an officer of the special forces of the [[Ministry of Interior]]. He was assistant commander of the force that guards the [[Grand Mosque]] in [[Makkah]] from June 2019, after an early posting to the special operations section of the [[General Intelligence Presidency]].[^1][^2] He was born in 1969 in [[Riyadh]].[^3]
### Lineage
He is the son of Saud bin Mohammed, and Saudi press gives his name as Bader bin Saud bin Mohammed.[^4] Al-Jazirah gave the full name of his father in January 2016 as Saud bin Mohammed (al-Mutawwa) bin Abdulaziz bin Saud bin Faisal bin Turki.[^5] A 2024 biography extends the chain the same way: Mohammed's father is Abdulaziz, a son of [[Saud bin Faisal bin Turki Al Saud]].[^3]
### Police and General Intelligence Presidency
He graduated from the [[King Fahd Security College]] in 1992 with a bachelor's degree in security sciences, and took a postgraduate diploma in police sciences from the same college in 1995.[^1] Arab News wrote in 2019 that after graduation "Prince Bader worked as an officer, detective and search officer with the Riyadh provincial police department before being posted to the Saudi General Intelligence agency to join its special operations section."[^1] A 2024 biography places the Riyadh police service in the Sulaymaniyah and Olaya districts and calls his intelligence post that of special operations officer.[^3]
He then moved to the [[General Directorate of Public Security]] and worked as a detective with the [[Makkah Police]]. A promotion to director of the Makkah police public relations and media department followed, and then an appointment as director of the internal patrol section of the [[Special Force for Holy Mosque Security]].[^1] The 2024 biography adds posts as director of the courtyard patrols section and of the patrols division of the force, and as assistant commander of the Public Security training city in [[Madinah]].[^3] He is a recipient of King Faisal's Merit, fourth rank.[^1]
### Grand Mosque special force, 2019 and 2020
On June 20, 2019, [[Al-Madina]] reported that the Director of Public Security, Gen. [[Khalid bin Qarar Al-Harbi]], had issued a decision appointing Brig. Gen. Dr. Bader bin Saud Al Saud assistant to the commander of the special force for the security of the Grand Mosque, and that he had worked for years in the force before returning to it as assistant.[^2] On August 27, 2019, the [[Saudi Press Agency]] quoted him, as Prince Brig. Gen. Dr. Bader bin Saud bin Mohammed, assistant commander of the force and supervisor of its field operations, on the security plans for the Umrah season beginning the following month.[^6] [[Arab News]] profiled him as assistant commander on September 23, 2019, and described him as a Ph.D. candidate in information sciences at [[King Abdulaziz University]].[^1]
[[Okaz]] reported on June 1, 2020 that the acting commander of the force, Brig. Gen. Dr. Bader bin Saud Al Saud, had received a second doctorate.[^7] A 2024 biography describes him as the new deputy for Hajj and Umrah security, announced by Gen. Khalid bin Qarar Al-Harbi, and places the appointment in the period of COVID-19 precautions for the Umrah season.[^3] An Okaz report of August 19, 2025 names Maj. Gen. Dr. Fawaz al-Mutaihi as commander of the special forces for Hajj and Umrah security.[^8]
### Education, writing and other activities
In 2005 he received a master's degree in international journalism from the [[University of Westminster]], and in 2014 a doctorate in media and communication from [[Goldsmiths, University of London]].[^1] In 2020 he received a second doctorate, in information science with a specialization in knowledge management, from King Abdulaziz University; the thesis, on transfer and sharing of tacit knowledge and its role in crowd management in the Hajj season, was recommended for publication.[^7]
He has published research papers in academic journals and has been a regular contributor to the opinion pages of national dailies.[^1] A 2024 biography adds that he was once president of the Saudi students' clubs in the [[United Kingdom]] and Ireland, and that he is a paratrooper.[^3]
### Family
His father, Saud bin Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, died on December 29, 2015 (18 Rabi al-Thani 1437); the [[Saudi Royal Court]] announced the death and prayers were held at the Imam Turki bin Abdullah Mosque in Riyadh.[^9] Al-Jazirah's biography of him, published January 22, 2016, names more than thirty children and lists among his sons "Prince Dr. Turki, president of King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology" and "Prince Dr. Colonel Paratrooper (Badr)," then of the special force for the security of the Grand Mosque, former head of public relations and media for the Makkah police, and former president of the Saudi student clubs in the United Kingdom and Ireland, whose mother was Princess Al-Anoud bint Abdullah Al-Furm.[^5] His brother is [[Turki bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud]], president of the [[King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology]] from 2015 to 2021 and an adviser to the Royal Court with ministerial rank from December 27, 2018.[^5][^10]
Khalid bin Bader Al Saud is his son. The [[Companies House]] officer record for Khalid carries the name "Khalid Bin Bader Bin Saud Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz AL SAUD" on two records and "Khalid Bin Badr Bin Saud M. Bin ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD" on a third; the name is an Arabic nasab, which states parentage: Khalid, son of Bader, son of Saud, son of Mohammed, son of Abdulaziz. The records show him born in September 1994 and of Saudi nationality, and list him as a director of three UK companies: KEKO HOSPITALITY LTD from November 8, 2021 (place of residence Saudi Arabia), KEKO GROUP LTD from June 17, 2022 (England) and KEKO LC LTD from July 5, 2023 (United Kingdom). All three are dissolved.[^11] [[Scott Stedman]] was the first to report the link, writing on X on October 13, 2026: "Prince Khalid bin Bader Al Saud appears to be the son of Brigadier General Prince Bader bin Saud bin Mohammed Al Saud, who previously served in the special operations section of Saudi Arabia's General Intelligence Agency."[^12]
Arabic press names Prince Khalid bin Badr Al Saud as the founder of [[Echelon (company)]], a Riyadh artificial intelligence company founded in 2025, and lists [[RAED Ventures]] among its investors. The Arabic spelling gives the father's name as Badr.[^13]
Turki's three UK officer records carry "Turki Bin Saud Bin Mohammed BIN ABDULAZIZ AL SAUD." He is a director and a person with significant control, holding 75 percent or more of the shares and votes, of Pulsed Fusion Energy Ltd, European Launch System Ltd and Solid Orbit Ltd, as person with significant control from May 13, May 18 and June 2, 2024, and as director from August 13, 2026.[^14]
### Namesakes
Prince Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud (1910-1988), a son of King Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud and the first Saudi-era emir of Madinah, had thirteen children, including a son named Badr. He is not the Mohammed in the lineage above, which runs through Saud bin Faisal.[^15]
Prince Badr bin Abdulaziz, a half-brother of King Abdullah, was deputy commander of the [[Saudi Arabian National Guard]] from 1968 until he retired in November 2010. He died in late March 2013 in his early eighties.[^16] He is a different person from the subject of this page.
Badr bin Abdul Mohsen Al Saud, a son of Prince Abdul Mohsen bin Abdulaziz, was a poet who died on May 4, 2024.[^17] He is a different person from the subject of this page.
### Footnotes
[^1]: Arab News, "Brig. Gen. Prince Bader bin Saud bin Mohammed Al-Saud, assistant commander for special forces security at Makkah's Grand Mosque," unsigned, published September 23, 2019, updated September 26, 2019. https://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/brig-gen-prince-bader-bin-saud-bin-mohammed-al-saud-assistant-commander-for-special-forces-security-at-makkahs-grand-mosque-1558696 Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20261013214925/https://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/brig-gen-prince-bader-bin-saud-bin-mohammed-al-saud-assistant-commander-for-special-forces-security-at-makkahs-grand-mosque-1558696
[^2]: Al-Madina, "بدر بن سعود مساعدا لقائد قوة المسجد الحرام" (Bader bin Saud assistant to the commander of the Grand Mosque force), June 20, 2019. https://www.al-madina.com/article/636444/
[^3]: Mhtwyat, "من هو بدر بن سعود نائب أمن الحج والعمرة الجديد" (Who is Bader bin Saud, the new deputy for Hajj and Umrah security), November 18, 2024. https://mhtwyat.com/?p=65427
[^4]: Okaz, "ترقية حرم الأمير بدر بن سعود" (Promotion of the wife of Prince Bader bin Saud), April 20, 2020. https://www.okaz.com.sa/people-situations/na/2020478
[^5]: Al-Jazirah, "Saud bin Mohammed: journey and history," January 22, 2016, https://www.al-jazirah.com/2016/20160122/wa1.htm. Sons listed include Khalid (eldest), Turki, Abdulaziz "al-Samer," Sultan, Saad, Badr, Nawaf, Mutaib, Faisal and others; Badr's mother is named as Al-Anoud bint Abdullah bin Abdulmohsen Al-Furm.
[^6]: Al Riyadh, "بدر بن سعود: قوة أمن المسجد الحرام مستعدة لموسم العمرة" (Bader bin Saud: Grand Mosque security force ready for the Umrah season), Saudi Press Agency report, August 27, 2019. https://www.alriyadh.com/1773411
[^7]: Okaz, "بدر بن سعود يحصل على الدكتوراه في إدارة الحشود بـ «امتياز»" (Bader bin Saud receives a doctorate in crowd management with distinction), June 1, 2020. https://www.okaz.com.sa/people-situations/na/2026456
[^8]: Okaz, "نائب أمير منطقة مكة يستقبل قائد القوات الخاصة لأمن الحج والعمرة" (Deputy emir of Makkah receives the commander of the special forces for Hajj and Umrah security), August 19, 2025. https://www.okaz.com.sa/news/local/2209488
[^9]: Saudi Press Agency via Argaam, "Royal Court: death of Prince Saud bin Mohammed bin Abdulaziz," December 29, 2015, https://www.argaam.com/ar/article/articledetail/id/402458 (also Al-Riyadh, https://alriyadh.com/1114485).
[^10]: Al Bayan, "Royal orders," December 27, 2018, https://www.albayan.ae/one-world/arabs/2018-12-27-1.3444982; Arab News, "KACST embarks on new era under Prince Turki," February 3, 2015, https://www.arabnews.com/saudi-arabia/kacst-embarks-on-new-era-under-prince-turki-698736.
[^11]: Companies House, officer appointment records for Khalid Bin Bader Bin Saud Mohammed Bin Abdulaziz AL SAUD: KEKO HOSPITALITY LTD (13728119), https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/cDyKBRijBKybt11YmLstKwJeiaI/appointments (archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20261013214609/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/cDyKBRijBKybt11YmLstKwJeiaI/appointments); KEKO GROUP LTD (14180252), https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/qEEjrdlLsxBzKgtrPk3zXU_hYPc/appointments (archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20261013214634/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/qEEjrdlLsxBzKgtrPk3zXU_hYPc/appointments); KEKO LC LTD (14981729), https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/1_JGhZeOABBdFc81fghIvIkr858/appointments (archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20261013214654/https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/1_JGhZeOABBdFc81fghIvIkr858/appointments).
[^12]: Scott Stedman, post on X, October 13, 2026. https://x.com/i/web/status/2110106692914696402
[^13]: Wamda, "Saudi AI startup Echelon secures backing from East40, RAED Ventures, Avra" (Arabic), October 7, 2026. https://www.wamda.com/2026/10/saudi-ai-startup-echelon-secures-backing-east40-raed-ventures-avra-arabic Archived: https://web.archive.org/web/20261013214422/https://www.wamda.com/2026/10/saudi-ai-startup-echelon-secures-backing-east40-raed-ventures-avra-arabic
[^14]: UK Companies House, officer record qEEjrdlLsxBzKgtrPk3zXU_hYPc (Khalid) and dysOEwiK9fb-UPNURIGrzji6LrQ (Turki), https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/qEEjrdlLsxBzKgtrPk3zXU_hYPc/appointments and https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/officers/dysOEwiK9fb-UPNURIGrzji6LrQ/appointments; companies 15717442, 15727737, 15755615.
[^15]: Saudipedia (Arabic), "محمد بن عبدالعزيز آل سعود" (Mohammed bin Abdulaziz Al Saud), children section. https://saudipedia.com/ar/محمد-بن-عبدالعزيز-آل-سعود
[^16]: Gulf States Newsletter, report on the death of Prince Badr bin Abdelaziz, April 12, 2013 (Issue 944). https://www.gsn-online.com/article/saudi-arabia-badr-bin-abdelaziz-funeral
[^17]: elcinema, "Badr bin Abdel Mohsen Al Saud (-2024)." https://elcinema.com/en/person/1999799

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@ -46,8 +46,18 @@ relations:
role: "assigned by the Attorney General to investigate Epstein's dealings with Clinton, Summers, Hoffman and JPMorgan Chase"
start: 2025-11-14
fn: 3
- type: head_of
with: "[[Director of National Intelligence]]"
start: 2026-08-03
role: "ninth Director of National Intelligence; sworn in after Senate confirmation the prior week"
fn: 4
- type: subject_of
with: "[[NSPM-11]]"
start: 2026-06-05
role: "named DNI in Sections 3(b), 4 and 5 of the memorandum, signed before his confirmation"
fn: 15
created: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-09-25
updated: 2026-10-13
---
Walter J. "Jay" Clayton III is an American lawyer who was a partner of [[Sullivan & Cromwell]], chairman of the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] from 2017 to 2020, non-executive chairman of [[Apollo Global Management]] in succession to its founder [[Leon Black]], and from 2025 [[United States]] Attorney for the [[U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York|Southern District of New York]]. In November 2025 Attorney General [[Pam Bondi]] assigned him to investigate [[Jeffrey Epstein]]'s dealings with [[Bill Clinton]], [[Larry Summers]], [[Reid Hoffman]] and [[JPMorgan Chase]]; Hoffman and [[Deutsche Bank]] had been among the clients Clayton disclosed on his 2017 government ethics filing. He was sworn in as the ninth [[Director of National Intelligence]] on August 3, 2026.[^1][^2][^3][^4]
@ -78,6 +88,14 @@ Trump nominated Clayton for Director of National Intelligence to fill the post v
He was succeeded in Manhattan by Jamie McDonald, who had served as director of enforcement at the [[Commodity Futures Trading Commission]] from 2017 to 2020 and then as a partner of Sullivan & Cromwell.[^13]
### Roles Under NSPM-11
On October 13, 2026 the Justice Department announced the arrest of [[Abdulrahman Alfozan]] and quoted Clayton, identified in the release as Director of National Intelligence, as saying: "This serious situation underscores why winning the global super intelligence race is a national security prerogative." The same quotation refers to "President Trump's leadership in creating the Super Intelligence Force," and continues: "I thank Director Patel and our FBI partners for their diligence and swift action. The intelligence community remains committed to safeguarding America's cutting-edge intellectual property from foreign threats."[^14]
[[NSPM-11|National Security Presidential Memorandum 11]], signed by Donald Trump on June 5, 2026, is addressed to the DNI as an office and assigns it roles in several sections. Section 4(e) states: "The DNI, in coordination with IC elements, shall prioritize the collection and analysis of foreign AI technologies, across the AI technology stack, AI applications and uses, and AI governance and policies that pose a threat to United States national security, economic security, and strategic competitiveness." Other assignments run to the review of AI procurement with the Secretary of War (Section 4(a)), a roadmap for advanced computing access (Section 4(b)), partnerships with private-sector companies through the AI Security Center (Section 4(c)), joint AI data and model exchanges (Section 4(f)), the AI for National Security Curriculum with the Secretary of War (Section 5(c)), and a joint AI risk-management strategy (Section 5(e)).[^15]
The memorandum was signed on June 5, 2026, before Clayton's confirmation.[^4]
### Footnotes
[^1]: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, "Jay Clayton," SEC Historical Summary of Chairmen and Commissioners. https://www.sec.gov/about/sec-commissioners/sec-historical-summary-chairmen-commissioners/jay-clayton
@ -93,3 +111,5 @@ He was succeeded in Manhattan by Jamie McDonald, who had served as director of e
[^11]: United States v. Maxwell, No. 1:20-cr-00330 (S.D.N.Y.), letters re Epstein Files Transparency Act review, ECF No. 839 (Jan. 15, 2026) and ECF No. 847 (Jan. 31, 2026). https://www.courtlistener.com/docket/17318376/united-states-v-maxwell/
[^12]: McLaughlin, Jenna. "Senate confirms Jay Clayton as director of national intelligence." *NPR,* July 29, 2026. https://www.npr.org/2026/07/29/nx-s1-5910749/senate-confirms-jay-clayton-as-director-of-national-intelligence
[^13]: U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York, "Meet the U.S. Attorney," accessed September 25, 2026. https://www.justice.gov/usao-sdny/meet-us-attorney
[^14]: U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Public Affairs, "Saudi National Arrested for Installing Surreptitious Audio Recording Device at OpenAI," press release 26-1173, October 13, 2026: "This serious situation underscores why winning the global super intelligence race is a national security prerogative." https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/saudi-national-arrested-installing-surreptitious-audio-recording-device-openai
[^15]: The White House, "National Security Presidential Memorandum/NSPM-11," signed June 5, 2026, Sections 4(a), 4(b), 4(c), 4(e), 4(f) and 5(c), 5(e). https://www.whitehouse.gov/presidential-actions/2026/06/national-security-presidential-memorandum-nspm-11/

86
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Kamal Adham.md
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@ -13,98 +13,102 @@ relations:
with: "[[Anwar Sadat]]"
role: "payments made on behalf of the CIA to Sadat when he was vice president, as described by press accounts cited by the Senate BCCI report"
start: 1970
fn: 6
fn: 9
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Central Intelligence Agency]]"
role: "principal liaison for the Middle East, mid-1960s through 1979, per the Senate BCCI report"
start: 1965
end: 1979
fn: 18
fn: 20
- type: owned
with: "[[Credit and Commerce American Holdings]]"
role: "nominee shareholder for BCCI"
fn: 14
fn: 17
- type: head_of
with: "[[Saudi Arabian intelligence]]"
fn: 12
with: "[[General Intelligence Presidency]]"
role: "first director of the service"
end: 1979
fn: 4
- type: represented
with: "[[Clark Clifford]]"
reverse: true
fn: 14
fn: 17
- type: prosecuted
with: "[[United States Department of Justice]]"
reverse: true
end: 1992-07-29
fn: 22
fn: 24
- type: investigated
with: "[[Securities and Exchange Commission]]"
reverse: true
role: "probe under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act into Boeing and Lockheed arms sales to Saudi Arabia; Federal Reserve staff learned of it in 1981"
fn: 17
fn: 19
---
Kamal Adham was the former head of [[Saudi Arabian intelligence]] and brother-in-law of the late [[King Faisal]]. He was a significant shareholder in [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] and [[First American Bank]]. Adham was a shrewd and jovial figure who straddled the worlds of Middle Eastern business and politics for decades. He was considered one of the true inside power players of the [[Middle East]].[^1]
Kamal Adham was the former head of the [[General Intelligence Presidency]] and brother-in-law of the late [[King Faisal]]. He was a significant shareholder in [[Bank of Credit and Commerce International|BCCI]] and [[First American Bank]]. Adham was a shrewd and jovial figure who straddled the worlds of Middle Eastern business and politics for decades. He was considered one of the true inside power players of the [[Middle East]].[^1]
Adham's influence stemmed from his royal connections, which he leveraged to facilitate business deals. He was the principal liaison between the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and European intelligence agencies, operating under the code name "Tumbleweed."[^2] His role in Saudi intelligence involved assisting the royalists in [[Yemen]]'s civil war and later wielding wider influence through surveillance of Saudi citizens and political enemies of the king.[^3]
Adham's influence stemmed from his royal connections, which he leveraged to facilitate business deals. He was the principal liaison between the [[Central Intelligence Agency]] and European intelligence agencies, operating under the code name "Tumbleweed."[^2] His role in Saudi intelligence involved assisting the royalists in [[Yemen]]'s civil war and later wielding wider influence through surveillance of Saudi citizens and political enemies of the king.[^3] [[Joseph Kechichian]] wrote that King Faisal appointed Adham, born in Istanbul in 1929, as the first and only ethnic non-Arab chief of Saudi intelligence, a post he held until 1979, when [[King Khalid]] replaced him with [[Turki al-Faisal]].[^4] Arab News wrote in 2001 that Adham was the first director of the agency, established in the mid-1960s, before Turki al-Faisal took over in 1977.[^5] The Senate BCCI report described Adham and [[A. R. (Abdul Raouf) Khalil|A. R. Khalil]] as "two successive heads of Saudi intelligence."[^6]
He played a crucial role as a front man for [[Agha Hasan Abedi]] in BCCI's secret acquisitions, including the [[National Bank of Georgia]] and [[Financial General Bankshares]].[^4] Jonathan Beaty and S. C. Gwynne wrote that Adham was instrumental in funneling money from [[Zayed bin Sultan AL-Nahayan|Sheikh Zayed]] and the CIA to [[Anwar Sadat]] and credited him with pressuring Sadat to engage in the [[Camp David summit|Camp David Accords]].[^5] Press accounts from the late 1970s described Adham as having made payments on behalf of the CIA to Sadat when Sadat was Nasser's vice president and in financial difficulty.[^6] The Senate report describes the key role Adham played at Camp David as encouraging other Arab political figures not to repudiate Sadat for agreeing to peace with Israel, and it does not describe him as pressuring Sadat into the talks.[^7]
He played a crucial role as a front man for [[Agha Hasan Abedi]] in BCCI's secret acquisitions, including the [[National Bank of Georgia]] and [[Financial General Bankshares]].[^7] Jonathan Beaty and S. C. Gwynne wrote that Adham was instrumental in funneling money from [[Zayed bin Sultan AL-Nahayan|Sheikh Zayed]] and the CIA to [[Anwar Sadat]] and credited him with pressuring Sadat to engage in the [[Camp David summit|Camp David Accords]].[^8] Press accounts from the late 1970s described Adham as having made payments on behalf of the CIA to Sadat when Sadat was Nasser's vice president and in financial difficulty.[^9] The Senate report describes the key role Adham played at Camp David as encouraging other Arab political figures not to repudiate Sadat for agreeing to peace with Israel, and it does not describe him as pressuring Sadat into the talks.[^10]
Adham was indicted in the [[United States]] for his involvement in BCCI's frauds and bribery, eventually pleading guilty in New York and agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors. He paid a $105 million fine.[^8]
Adham was indicted in the [[United States]] for his involvement in BCCI's frauds and bribery, eventually pleading guilty in New York and agreeing to cooperate with prosecutors. He paid a $105 million fine.[^11]
### Early Life and Career
Born in 1929, Kamal Adham was the son of Dr. Rashad Pharaon, physician to [[King Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud]], the founder of modern [[Saudi Arabia]]. His father's position within the royal inner circle provided Adham with significant access and influence from a young age.[^9] He received a good education, attending the best French schools.[^10]
Born in 1929, Kamal Adham was the son of Dr. Rashad Pharaon, physician to [[King Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud]], the founder of modern [[Saudi Arabia]]. His father's position within the royal inner circle provided Adham with significant access and influence from a young age.[^12] He received a good education, attending the best French schools.[^13]
Adham launched his business career in 1951, at the age of twenty-two, by controlling the franchise for [[Carrier Corp]] air conditioners. He expanded his ventures to include a TUP bottling plant, and companies that built roads, airports, and imported elevators and computers. By the mid-1960s, his influence grew to the point where he represented multiple defense firms and became a principal broker for weapons purchased by Saudi Arabia on behalf of Egypt.[^11]
Adham launched his business career in 1951, at the age of twenty-two, by controlling the franchise for [[Carrier Corp]] air conditioners. He expanded his ventures to include a TUP bottling plant, and companies that built roads, airports, and imported elevators and computers. By the mid-1960s, his influence grew to the point where he represented multiple defense firms and became a principal broker for weapons purchased by Saudi Arabia on behalf of Egypt.[^14]
### Relationship with Abedi and BCCI
Abedi met Adham in the early 1970s through [[Sheikh Zayed]]. Adham became a key figure in Abedi's strategy to expand BCCI's influence in the United States. He was a nominal lead shareholder in First American Bank and was responsible for hiring [[Clark Clifford]] and [[Robert Altman]] to lead the bank.[^12] Adham's role was to provide a veneer of legitimacy and access for BCCI's clandestine operations.
Abedi met Adham in the early 1970s through [[Sheikh Zayed]]. Adham became a key figure in Abedi's strategy to expand BCCI's influence in the United States. He was a nominal lead shareholder in First American Bank and was responsible for hiring [[Clark Clifford]] and [[Robert Altman]] to lead the bank.[^15] Adham's role was to provide a veneer of legitimacy and access for BCCI's clandestine operations.
### Involvement in Nuclear Programs
Adham publicly asserted that [[Pakistan]] possessed an atomic bomb and that Abedi and BCCI had financially supported its development. He viewed this as an achievement for the Third World, challenging Western powers' control over nuclear technology.[^13]
Adham publicly asserted that [[Pakistan]] possessed an atomic bomb and that Abedi and BCCI had financially supported its development. He viewed this as an achievement for the Third World, challenging Western powers' control over nuclear technology.[^16]
### The Federal Reserve Hearing
Adham was one of four original investors, with [[Faisal Saud al-Fulaij]], Sheikh [[Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan]] and Abdullah Darwaish, named as holders of Financial General shares in 1978; the memo of the BCCI officer [[Abdus Sami]] to Agha Hasan Abedi of January 30, 1978, reported: "We have already given the names of Sheikh Kamal Adham and Mr. Fulaig [sic]. We want two other names immediately."[^14][^15] At the [[Federal Reserve Board|Federal Reserve]] hearing of April 23, 1981, he testified that "whatever relationships are developed between Financial General and BCCI in the future, if any, are matters to be decided by the new management of Financial General based upon that institution's best interests." Asked whether it was a coincidence that BCCI had analyzed Financial General for him and then advised other clients to invest, he said: "That is very possible. Such things happen in our parts of the world." He told the regulators, falsely according to the [[BCCI Kerry-Brown Senate Report|Kerry-Brown Senate Report]], that he had not met Fulaij for ten years; the two had acted together as BCCI nominees in dealings in the shares of BCCI's [[Attock Oil]]. "I would like to assure you," he said, "that each one on his own rights will not accept in any way to be a cover for somebody else."[^14] Clark Clifford described him to the regulators not as the former head of Saudi intelligence or the late king's brother-in-law, "but merely as a prominent Saudi businessman," and said he had the "deepest respect for his [Adham's] character, for his reputation, for his honor and for his integrity."[^14] In early drafts of the arrangement by which Clifford and Robert Altman acquired CCAH shares, Adham, with BCCI as back-up, was to be bound to repurchase their shares at any time at their discretion; the requirement was never discussed with him, which the Senate report took as showing that Clifford, Altman and BCCI regarded him "as no more than a nominee for BCCI."[^16]
Adham was one of four original investors, with [[Faisal Saud al-Fulaij]], Sheikh [[Sultan bin Zayed Al Nahyan]] and Abdullah Darwaish, named as holders of Financial General shares in 1978; the memo of the BCCI officer [[Abdus Sami]] to Agha Hasan Abedi of January 30, 1978, reported: "We have already given the names of Sheikh Kamal Adham and Mr. Fulaig [sic]. We want two other names immediately."[^6][^17] At the [[Federal Reserve Board|Federal Reserve]] hearing of April 23, 1981, he testified that "whatever relationships are developed between Financial General and BCCI in the future, if any, are matters to be decided by the new management of Financial General based upon that institution's best interests." Asked whether it was a coincidence that BCCI had analyzed Financial General for him and then advised other clients to invest, he said: "That is very possible. Such things happen in our parts of the world." He told the regulators, falsely according to the [[BCCI Kerry-Brown Senate Report|Kerry-Brown Senate Report]], that he had not met Fulaij for ten years; the two had acted together as BCCI nominees in dealings in the shares of BCCI's [[Attock Oil]]. "I would like to assure you," he said, "that each one on his own rights will not accept in any way to be a cover for somebody else."[^17] Clark Clifford described him to the regulators not as the former head of Saudi intelligence or the late king's brother-in-law, "but merely as a prominent Saudi businessman," and said he had the "deepest respect for his [Adham's] character, for his reputation, for his honor and for his integrity."[^17] In early drafts of the arrangement by which Clifford and Robert Altman acquired CCAH shares, Adham, with BCCI as back-up, was to be bound to repurchase their shares at any time at their discretion; the requirement was never discussed with him, which the Senate report took as showing that Clifford, Altman and BCCI regarded him "as no more than a nominee for BCCI."[^18]
In a letter to the Federal Reserve of April 10, 1991, Adham gave another account of the investment's origin: a friend, Hasan Yassin, had told him Financial General would be a good investment, and he had brought it to BCCI "as his business agent." The Senate report called this "completely inconsistent" with the accounts of [[Bert Lance]], the *[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]* and Robert Altman, and noted that Lance had never heard of Yassin.[^14]
In a letter to the Federal Reserve of April 10, 1991, Adham gave another account of the investment's origin: a friend, Hasan Yassin, had told him Financial General would be a good investment, and he had brought it to BCCI "as his business agent." The Senate report called this "completely inconsistent" with the accounts of [[Bert Lance]], the *[[The Washington Post|Washington Post]]* and Robert Altman, and noted that Lance had never heard of Yassin.[^17]
The Senate report states that the Federal Reserve asked the Central Intelligence Agency in 1981 whether it held derogatory information on the Middle Eastern shareholders of CCAH. The CIA replied that it had none, and did not tell the Federal Reserve that Adham and [[A. R. (Abdul Raouf) Khalil|Abdul Raouf Khalil]] were intelligence liaisons of the United States. Adham had also been the subject of a [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] probe under the [[Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]] into [[Boeing]] and Lockheed arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The report states that Federal Reserve staff learned of the intelligence contacts and of the commission's probe into Adham's and Faisal al-Fulaij's alleged receipt of bribes in 1981.[^17]
The Senate report states that the Federal Reserve asked the Central Intelligence Agency in 1981 whether it held derogatory information on the Middle Eastern shareholders of CCAH. The CIA replied that it had none, and did not tell the Federal Reserve that Adham and Abdul Raouf Khalil were intelligence liaisons of the United States. Adham had also been the subject of a [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] probe under the [[Foreign Corrupt Practices Act]] into [[Boeing]] and Lockheed arms sales to Saudi Arabia. The report states that Federal Reserve staff learned of the intelligence contacts and of the commission's probe into Adham's and Faisal al-Fulaij's alleged receipt of bribes in 1981.[^19]
### Camp David and the Federal Reserve hearing
Adham was the CIA's principal liaison for the Middle East from the mid-1960s through 1979, according to the Senate report, and at the Federal Reserve hearing of April 23, 1981 he did not mention that background, his historic ties to the CIA, or that he had acted as the most important liaison between the United States and his friend Sadat in the negotiation of the Camp David accords.[^18] Clark Clifford, in sworn interrogatories, said he believed Adham's roles in Camp David and in the simultaneous takeover of Financial General were coincidence, and that Adham had told him of his friendship with Sadat without mentioning any role in Camp David.[^19] Adham told U.S. investigators that his involvement and BCCI's purchase of First American were unrelated to Camp David.[^20]
Adham was the CIA's principal liaison for the Middle East from the mid-1960s through 1979, according to the Senate report, and at the Federal Reserve hearing of April 23, 1981 he did not mention that background, his historic ties to the CIA, or that he had acted as the most important liaison between the United States and his friend Sadat in the negotiation of the Camp David accords.[^20] Clark Clifford, in sworn interrogatories, said he believed Adham's roles in Camp David and in the simultaneous takeover of Financial General were coincidence, and that Adham had told him of his friendship with Sadat without mentioning any role in Camp David.[^21] Adham told U.S. investigators that his involvement and BCCI's purchase of First American were unrelated to Camp David.[^22]
### Intelligence Background
The Senate report recorded that the CIA, asked about the CCAH shareholders, told the Federal Reserve it had no derogatory information on them, without telling it that Adham and Abdul Raouf Khalil were "the past and then-current Saudi intelligence liaisons to the United States," or that Adham and Fulaij had been the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act into arms sales to Saudi Arabia by Boeing and [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]]. Paul Volcker, who as chairman of the Federal Reserve signed the 1981 approval, testified in 1991 that he "wasn't aware" of Adham's intelligence background and that it "might send an eyebrow or two up." The Virginia bank regulator Sidney Bailey asked the [[State Department]] and the CIA for information on the shareholders and received none; "at the time," the report found, "the CIA knew precisely who Adham was."[^14][^21]
The Senate report recorded that the CIA, asked about the CCAH shareholders, told the Federal Reserve it had no derogatory information on them, without telling it that Adham and Abdul Raouf Khalil were "the past and then-current Saudi intelligence liaisons to the United States," or that Adham and Fulaij had been the subject of a Securities and Exchange Commission inquiry under the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act into arms sales to Saudi Arabia by Boeing and [[Lockheed Corporation|Lockheed]]. Paul Volcker, who as chairman of the Federal Reserve signed the 1981 approval, testified in 1991 that he "wasn't aware" of Adham's intelligence background and that it "might send an eyebrow or two up." The Virginia bank regulator Sidney Bailey asked the [[State Department]] and the CIA for information on the shareholders and received none; "at the time," the report found, "the CIA knew precisely who Adham was."[^17][^23]
### Plea
On July 29, 1992, the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] announced that Adham and his accountant, Sayed Jawhary, had pleaded guilty to charges arising from the BCCI case, and that Adham had agreed to cooperate with investigators and to pay 105 million dollars in reparations and fines.[^22]
On July 29, 1992, the [[United States Department of Justice|Justice Department]] announced that Adham and his accountant, Sayed Jawhary, had pleaded guilty to charges arising from the BCCI case, and that Adham had agreed to cooperate with investigators and to pay 105 million dollars in reparations and fines.[^24]
### Footnotes
[^1]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 197.
[^2]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 199.
[^3]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 199.
[^4]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 200.
[^5]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 200.
[^6]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate*, S. Prt. 102-140, December 1992, pp. 299-300 and note 779, quoting Bob Woodward, *Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987*, Simon and Schuster, 1987, p. 352.
[^7]: S. Prt. 102-140, p. 301 (Camp David finding): "The key role played by Adham in Camp David was apparently to encourage other Arab political figures not to repudiate Sadat for agreeing to peace with Israel."
[^8]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 14.
[^9]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 203.
[^10]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 203.
[^11]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 198.
[^12]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 197.
[^13]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 310.
[^14]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 6, "BCCI in the United States: Initial Entry." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/06early.htm
[^15]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 14, "Abu Dhabi: BCCI's Founding and Majority Stockholders." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/14abudhabi.htm
[^16]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 13, "Clark Clifford and Robert Altman." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/13clifford.htm
[^17]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 11, "BCCI, the CIA and Foreign Intelligence" (the CIA's reply to the Federal Reserve; the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act probe; text following notes 10 to 12). https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/11intel.htm
[^18]: S. Prt. 102-140, pp. 299-300 (CIA liaison; Federal Reserve testimony of April 23, 1981), with notes 778 and 783.
[^19]: S. Prt. 102-140, p. 301, note 789 (Clark Clifford sworn interrogatories).
[^20]: S. Prt. 102-140, p. 301 (Adham's account to U.S. investigators, as summarized by the report).
[^21]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 11, "BCCI, the CIA and Foreign Intelligence." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/11intel.htm
[^22]: "Clifford, Altman indicted in BCCI bank fraud," United Press International, July 29, 1992. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/07/29/Clifford-Altman-indicted-in-BCCI-bank-fraud/5122712382400/
[^4]: Joseph A. Kechichian, "The man behind the scenes: Kamal Adham served rulers of Saudi Arabia with distinction," Gulf News, February 12, 2010. https://gulfnews.com/uae/the-man-behind-the-scenes-1.581564
[^5]: "Prince Nawaf new intelligence chief," Arab News, September 1, 2001. https://www.arabnews.com/node/214954
[^6]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 14, "Abu Dhabi: BCCI's Founding and Majority Stockholders." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/14abudhabi.htm
[^7]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 200.
[^8]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 200.
[^9]: U.S. Senate, Committee on Foreign Relations, *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate*, S. Prt. 102-140, December 1992, pp. 299-300 and note 779, quoting Bob Woodward, *Veil: The Secret Wars of the CIA, 1981-1987*, Simon and Schuster, 1987, p. 352.
[^10]: S. Prt. 102-140, p. 301 (Camp David finding): "The key role played by Adham in Camp David was apparently to encourage other Arab political figures not to repudiate Sadat for agreeing to peace with Israel."
[^11]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 14.
[^12]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 203.
[^13]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 203.
[^14]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 198.
[^15]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 197.
[^16]: Beaty, Jonathan and Gwynne, S. C. *The Outlaw Bank: A Wild Ride into the Secret Heart of BCCI*. New York: Random House, 1993, p. 310.
[^17]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 6, "BCCI in the United States: Initial Entry." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/06early.htm
[^18]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 13, "Clark Clifford and Robert Altman." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/13clifford.htm
[^19]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 11, "BCCI, the CIA and Foreign Intelligence" (the CIA's reply to the Federal Reserve; the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act probe; text following notes 10 to 12). https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/11intel.htm
[^20]: S. Prt. 102-140, pp. 299-300 (CIA liaison; Federal Reserve testimony of April 23, 1981), with notes 778 and 783.
[^21]: S. Prt. 102-140, p. 301, note 789 (Clark Clifford sworn interrogatories).
[^22]: S. Prt. 102-140, p. 301 (Adham's account to U.S. investigators, as summarized by the report).
[^23]: Kerry, Senator John, and Senator Hank Brown. *The BCCI Affair: A Report to the Committee on Foreign Relations, United States Senate.* December 1992, ch. 11, "BCCI, the CIA and Foreign Intelligence." https://irp.fas.org/congress/1992_rpt/bcci/11intel.htm
[^24]: "Clifford, Altman indicted in BCCI bank fraud," United Press International, July 29, 1992. https://www.upi.com/Archives/1992/07/29/Clifford-Altman-indicted-in-BCCI-bank-fraud/5122712382400/

56
10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Leopold Aschenbrenner.md
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@ -37,16 +37,16 @@ relations:
with: "[[Situational Awareness LP]]"
start: 2024-05
role: "managing partner and chief investment officer"
fn: 15
fn: 17
- type: owned
with: "[[Situational Awareness LP]]"
role: "50 to 75 percent owner of the adviser, per Form ADV Schedule A"
fn: 15
fn: 17
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Carl Shulman]]"
start: 2024-10
role: "business partner; co-portfolio manager and director of research, 25 to 50 percent owner of the adviser"
fn: 15
fn: 17
- type: funded
with: "[[Patrick Collison]]"
reverse: true
@ -70,9 +70,9 @@ relations:
- type: partner_of
with: "[[Avital Balwit]]"
role: "fiance, as reported by CNBC in July 2026"
fn: 10
fn: 12
created: 2026-10-01
updated: 2026-10-01
updated: 2026-10-13
---
Leopold Aschenbrenner is the founder of [[Situational Awareness LP]], a [[San Francisco]] investment adviser to an AI-infrastructure hedge fund. His own site states that he "originally hail[s] from Germany," "did research on long-run economic growth at Oxford's Global Priorities Institute," worked "on the Superalignment team at OpenAI," and "recently founded an investment firm focused on AGI, with anchor investments from [[Patrick Collison]], [[John Collison]], [[Nat Friedman]], and [[Daniel Gross]]."[^1] The cover pages of the firm's ownership filings with the [[Securities and Exchange Commission]] give his citizenship as code 2M, the EDGAR code for Germany.[^2]
@ -91,33 +91,33 @@ In 2018, through the American affiliate of the Centre for Effective Altruism, [[
[[Erin Woo]] and [[Stephanie Palazzolo]] of [[The Information]] reported on 11 April 2024, citing "a person with knowledge of the situation," that [[OpenAI]] had fired two researchers for allegedly leaking information: Aschenbrenner, "a researcher on a team dedicated to keeping artificial intelligence safe for society," and [[Pavel Izmailov]]. They described Aschenbrenner as "an ally of OpenAI chief scientist [[Ilya Sutskever]], who participated in a failed effort to force out OpenAI CEO [[Sam Altman]] last fall," and wrote that "It's not clear what information the two fired staffers leaked."[^9]
In a podcast interview with Patel posted on 4 June 2024, Aschenbrenner said the leak was a "brainstorming document on preparedness, safety, and security measures" that he had shared "with three external researchers for feedback," after redacting a reference to "a future cluster." He said he had earlier written an internal memo on OpenAI's security, "which I thought was egregiously insufficient to protect against the theft of model weights or key algorithmic secrets from foreign actors," shared it with "a couple of board members" after "a major security incident," and received "an official HR warning for sharing the memo with the board." He said that when he was fired "it was very made explicit that the security memo was a major reason," that a lawyer had questioned him about "whether the government should be involved in AGI, whether I and the superalignment team were loyal to the company, and what I was up to during the OpenAI board events," that he had not signed the employee letter during those events, and that he was offered equity worth "close to a million dollars" on leaving but "didn't want to sign."[^5] [[David Faber]] of [[CNBC]] wrote in July 2026 that "OpenAI has said those concerns were unrelated to his departure."[^10] The essay series "Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead," published under his name, is dated June 2024.[^11]
In a podcast interview with Patel posted on 4 June 2024, Aschenbrenner said the leak was a "brainstorming document on preparedness, safety, and security measures" that he had shared "with three external researchers for feedback," after redacting a reference to "a future cluster." He said he had earlier written an internal memo on OpenAI's security, "which I thought was egregiously insufficient to protect against the theft of model weights or key algorithmic secrets from foreign actors," shared it with "a couple of board members" after "a major security incident," and received "an official HR warning for sharing the memo with the board." He said that he had first shared the memo with a few colleagues and a couple of members of leadership, who "mostly said it was helpful," and that "days later, it was made very clear to me that leadership was very unhappy I had shared this memo with the board."[^5] He said that the human resources representative "told me it was racist to worry about CCP espionage and that it was unconstructive."[^5] A footnote on the transcript at the words "major security incident" reads: "The previous linked item here was not the major security incident Leopold was referring to."[^10] [[TechCrunch]] reported on July 5, 2024 that the New York Times had reported on a 2023 hack of an OpenAI employee forum "after former OpenAI employee Leopold Aschenbrenner hinted at it recently in a podcast."[^11] He said that the company's main claim "was this leaking allegation. That's what they told employees. The security memo was another thing," and that the company told him "the reason this is a firing and not a warning is because of the security memo."[^5] He said that when he was fired "it was very made explicit that the security memo was a major reason," that a lawyer had questioned him about "whether the government should be involved in AGI, whether I and the superalignment team were loyal to the company, and what I was up to during the OpenAI board events," that he had not signed the employee letter during those events, and that he was offered equity worth "close to a million dollars" on leaving but "didn't want to sign."[^5] [[David Faber]] of [[CNBC]] wrote in July 2026 that "OpenAI has said those concerns were unrelated to his departure."[^12] The essay series "Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead," published under his name, is dated June 2024.[^13]
### The Funds
Situational Awareness Partners LP, a Delaware partnership, filed a notice of exempt offering (Form D) on 23 September 2024 as a hedge fund relying on Rule 506(b) and the section 3(c)(7) exclusion, with a minimum investment of 5,000,000 dollars and offices at 512 2nd Street, San Francisco. Its general partner is SAF AI GP LP, whose general partner is SAF AI GP LLC, managed by Aschenbrenner, who signed the form; [[Nicholas Gross-Whitaker]] is chief operating officer.[^12] Situational Awareness Offshore LP, a [[Cayman Islands]] partnership at the offices of Walkers Corporate Limited, filed on 12 December 2024 with a first sale on 1 December and 24,042,356 dollars sold to two investors.[^13] A third vehicle, "Situational Awareness LP Nov 2024 a Series of CGF2021 LLC," administered by [[Sydecar]] in Claymont, Delaware, reported 24,975,000 dollars sold to 32 investors under the section 3(c)(1) exclusion.[^14]
Situational Awareness Partners LP, a Delaware partnership, filed a notice of exempt offering (Form D) on 23 September 2024 as a hedge fund relying on Rule 506(b) and the section 3(c)(7) exclusion, with a minimum investment of 5,000,000 dollars and offices at 512 2nd Street, San Francisco. Its general partner is SAF AI GP LP, whose general partner is SAF AI GP LLC, managed by Aschenbrenner, who signed the form; [[Nicholas Gross-Whitaker]] is chief operating officer.[^14] Situational Awareness Offshore LP, a [[Cayman Islands]] partnership at the offices of Walkers Corporate Limited, filed on 12 December 2024 with a first sale on 1 December and 24,042,356 dollars sold to two investors.[^15] A third vehicle, "Situational Awareness LP Nov 2024 a Series of CGF2021 LLC," administered by [[Sydecar]] in Claymont, Delaware, reported 24,975,000 dollars sold to 32 investors under the section 3(c)(1) exclusion.[^16]
The adviser registered with the SEC effective 24 February 2025 (file 801-132039, CRD 333011), after withdrawing a California exempt-reporting registration on 25 January 2025.[^15] Its Form ADV of 11 June 2026 reports regulatory assets under management of 9,278,344,000 dollars, all discretionary, in two accounts, and eight employees, four of them in advisory roles. The single private fund it reports is Situational Awareness Partners LP, a master fund whose feeder is the offshore partnership, which is registered with the [[Cayman Islands Monetary Authority]]. It reports the fund's gross asset value as 9,278,344,000 dollars, its beneficial owners as about 81, the share owned by the adviser and its related persons as about 4 percent and the share owned by non-United States persons as 14 percent. The auditor is [[KPMG]] in Walnut Creek, the administrator is Stone Coast Fund Services, and the prime brokers are BofA Securities Prime, [[Citigroup]] Global Markets, [[Goldman Sachs]] and J.P. Morgan Securities, with [[Citizens Financial Group]] also listed as a custodian. Schedule A lists Aschenbrenner as chief investment officer from May 2024 with ownership of 50 to 75 percent, Shulman as director of research from October 2024 with 25 to 50 percent, and Gross-Whitaker as chief operating officer from August 2024 with 5 to 10 percent, followed by chief financial officer Patrick DeGraca (January 2026) and chief compliance officer Kimberly Summe (June 2026).[^15]
The adviser registered with the SEC effective 24 February 2025 (file 801-132039, CRD 333011), after withdrawing a California exempt-reporting registration on 25 January 2025.[^17] Its Form ADV of 11 June 2026 reports regulatory assets under management of 9,278,344,000 dollars, all discretionary, in two accounts, and eight employees, four of them in advisory roles. The single private fund it reports is Situational Awareness Partners LP, a master fund whose feeder is the offshore partnership, which is registered with the [[Cayman Islands Monetary Authority]]. It reports the fund's gross asset value as 9,278,344,000 dollars, its beneficial owners as about 81, the share owned by the adviser and its related persons as about 4 percent and the share owned by non-United States persons as 14 percent. The auditor is [[KPMG]] in Walnut Creek, the administrator is Stone Coast Fund Services, and the prime brokers are BofA Securities Prime, [[Citigroup]] Global Markets, [[Goldman Sachs]] and J.P. Morgan Securities, with [[Citizens Financial Group]] also listed as a custodian. Schedule A lists Aschenbrenner as chief investment officer from May 2024 with ownership of 50 to 75 percent, Shulman as director of research from October 2024 with 25 to 50 percent, and Gross-Whitaker as chief operating officer from August 2024 with 5 to 10 percent, followed by chief financial officer Patrick DeGraca (January 2026) and chief compliance officer Kimberly Summe (June 2026).[^17]
The amended Forms D record the cumulative amounts sold since the first sales. For the Delaware fund they were 997,910,000 dollars from 65 investors (signed 5 September 2025), 1,025,510,000 dollars from 66 investors (29 December 2025), 1,762,326,027 dollars from 93 investors (10 March 2026) and 4,346,004,027 dollars from 135 investors (11 September 2026). For the Cayman feeder they were 53,185,626 dollars from 10 investors (8 and 29 December 2025), 198,142,357 dollars from 15 investors (10 March 2026) and 5,184,671,655 dollars from 52 investors (11 September 2026).[^12][^13] Two further partnerships under the same general partner, SAF FSC2 LP and SAF PIC LP, filed on 12 May 2026 as venture capital funds, reporting 167,150,000 dollars from 25 investors and 50,100,000 dollars from nine, with first sales on 1 May 2026.[^16]
The amended Forms D record the cumulative amounts sold since the first sales. For the Delaware fund they were 997,910,000 dollars from 65 investors (signed 5 September 2025), 1,025,510,000 dollars from 66 investors (29 December 2025), 1,762,326,027 dollars from 93 investors (10 March 2026) and 4,346,004,027 dollars from 135 investors (11 September 2026). For the Cayman feeder they were 53,185,626 dollars from 10 investors (8 and 29 December 2025), 198,142,357 dollars from 15 investors (10 March 2026) and 5,184,671,655 dollars from 52 investors (11 September 2026).[^14][^15] Two further partnerships under the same general partner, SAF FSC2 LP and SAF PIC LP, filed on 12 May 2026 as venture capital funds, reporting 167,150,000 dollars from 25 investors and 50,100,000 dollars from nine, with first sales on 1 May 2026.[^18]
### Reported Positions
The adviser's quarterly holdings reports (Form 13F) list long equity positions and listed options, the latter valued at the underlying shares. The first, for 31 December 2024, listed six positions worth 254,813,765 dollars, led by [[Marvell Technology]] and followed by [[Vistra]], Vertiv, Talen Energy, [[Constellation Energy]] and Modine. For 31 March 2025 the twelve positions totaled 1,005,567,727 dollars, led by call options on 20,237,400 shares of [[Intel]] (459,591,354 dollars), and included [[CoreWeave]] and [[Core Scientific]]. For 30 June 2025 the nine positions totaled 2,123,023,762 dollars, led by put options on a VanEck semiconductor exchange-traded fund. For 30 September 2025 there were 28 positions worth 4,138,368,748 dollars, and for 31 December 2025, 29 worth 5,516,758,344 dollars, led by [[Bloom Energy]].[^17]
The adviser's quarterly holdings reports (Form 13F) list long equity positions and listed options, the latter valued at the underlying shares. The first, for 31 December 2024, listed six positions worth 254,813,765 dollars, led by [[Marvell Technology]] and followed by [[Vistra]], Vertiv, Talen Energy, [[Constellation Energy]] and Modine. For 31 March 2025 the twelve positions totaled 1,005,567,727 dollars, led by call options on 20,237,400 shares of [[Intel]] (459,591,354 dollars), and included [[CoreWeave]] and [[Core Scientific]]. For 30 June 2025 the nine positions totaled 2,123,023,762 dollars, led by put options on a VanEck semiconductor exchange-traded fund. For 30 September 2025 there were 28 positions worth 4,138,368,748 dollars, and for 31 December 2025, 29 worth 5,516,758,344 dollars, led by [[Bloom Energy]].[^19]
For 31 March 2026 the report listed 42 positions worth 13,676,657,577 dollars, of which the five largest were put options: on the VanEck semiconductor fund (2,042,716,860 dollars), [[Nvidia]] (1,568,257,120 dollars), [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]] (1,072,873,230 dollars), [[Broadcom]] (1,006,247,961 dollars) and [[Advanced Micro Devices]] (969,160,863 dollars); there were also puts on Micron, [[Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company]] and ASML, and long positions in bitcoin-mining and data-center companies including IREN, Core Scientific, Riot Platforms, CleanSpark and Applied Digital. The same report was filed under the Delaware fund's own registration. The report for 30 June 2026, signed by Summe, listed 26 positions worth 20,242,292,228 dollars, almost all long: [[SanDisk]] (5,673,738,513 dollars), [[Micron Technology]] (5,573,819,392 dollars), Bloom Energy, Taiwan Semiconductor, [[Nebius Group]], CoreWeave and Core Scientific.[^17][^18]
For 31 March 2026 the report listed 42 positions worth 13,676,657,577 dollars, of which the five largest were put options: on the VanEck semiconductor fund (2,042,716,860 dollars), [[Nvidia]] (1,568,257,120 dollars), [[Oracle Corporation|Oracle]] (1,072,873,230 dollars), [[Broadcom]] (1,006,247,961 dollars) and [[Advanced Micro Devices]] (969,160,863 dollars); there were also puts on Micron, [[Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company]] and ASML, and long positions in bitcoin-mining and data-center companies including IREN, Core Scientific, Riot Platforms, CleanSpark and Applied Digital. The same report was filed under the Delaware fund's own registration. The report for 30 June 2026, signed by Summe, listed 26 positions worth 20,242,292,228 dollars, almost all long: [[SanDisk]] (5,673,738,513 dollars), [[Micron Technology]] (5,573,819,392 dollars), Bloom Energy, Taiwan Semiconductor, [[Nebius Group]], CoreWeave and Core Scientific.[^19][^20]
### Core Scientific, Nebius and SharonAI
A Schedule 13D filed on 19 August 2025 reported that the Delaware fund held 17,682,918 shares of Core Scientific (5.8 percent), bought for 213,190,431.12 dollars, "for investment purposes." The reporting persons were the adviser, SAF AI GP LP, Situational Awareness LLC, the fund, Aschenbrenner, "the managing partner and control person of Adviser and General Partner," and Shulman, "the co-portfolio manager of the Fund"; both men signed the joint filing agreement. The filing reserved the right to recommend "mergers, consolidations, sales or acquisitions of assets, changes in control." Counsel was Anthony J. Caldwell of [[Shartsis Friese]]. An amendment of 14 October 2025 reported 28,756,478 shares (9.4 percent), bought for 362,121,757.59 dollars.[^2] In the proxy statement for Core Scientific's proposed acquisition by CoreWeave, filed on 26 September 2025, the adviser appears among the holders of more than 5 percent, alongside the [[Vanguard Group]], [[BlackRock]], Two Seas Capital and G1 Execution Services.[^19]
A Schedule 13D filed on 19 August 2025 reported that the Delaware fund held 17,682,918 shares of Core Scientific (5.8 percent), bought for 213,190,431.12 dollars, "for investment purposes." The reporting persons were the adviser, SAF AI GP LP, Situational Awareness LLC, the fund, Aschenbrenner, "the managing partner and control person of Adviser and General Partner," and Shulman, "the co-portfolio manager of the Fund"; both men signed the joint filing agreement. The filing reserved the right to recommend "mergers, consolidations, sales or acquisitions of assets, changes in control." Counsel was Anthony J. Caldwell of [[Shartsis Friese]]. An amendment of 14 October 2025 reported 28,756,478 shares (9.4 percent), bought for 362,121,757.59 dollars.[^2] In the proxy statement for Core Scientific's proposed acquisition by CoreWeave, filed on 26 September 2025, the adviser appears among the holders of more than 5 percent, alongside the [[Vanguard Group]], [[BlackRock]], Two Seas Capital and G1 Execution Services.[^21]
The adviser reported 12,410,060 Class A shares of Nebius Group (5.6 percent) on a Schedule 13G for 19 May 2026.[^20] In June 2026 the fund bought shares of [[SharonAI Holdings]] under a securities purchase agreement with a prefunded warrant at 0.0001 dollars a share, capped at 19.99 percent until shareholders approved the issuance on 27 August 2026; the next day the reporting persons filed a Schedule 13D for 8,070,950 shares (21.1 percent), bought for 523,882,863.18 dollars, stating an investment purpose. The fund exercised the rest of the warrant on 15 September 2026.[^20]
The adviser reported 12,410,060 Class A shares of Nebius Group (5.6 percent) on a Schedule 13G for 19 May 2026.[^22] In June 2026 the fund bought shares of [[SharonAI Holdings]] under a securities purchase agreement with a prefunded warrant at 0.0001 dollars a share, capped at 19.99 percent until shareholders approved the issuance on 27 August 2026; the next day the reporting persons filed a Schedule 13D for 8,070,950 shares (21.1 percent), bought for 523,882,863.18 dollars, stating an investment purpose. The fund exercised the rest of the warrant on 15 September 2026.[^22]
### July and August 2026
Faber reported on 30 July 2026, citing people familiar with the matter, that the fund "was forced to sell all of its public stock holdings" after losses on AI infrastructure investments "such as SK Hynix" and on "short positions in software companies such as Adobe," that it had grown to "as big as $45 billion at the start of July," and that "Ken Griffin's [[Citadel]] hedge fund reached a deal to buy the fund's publicly traded assets." He wrote that prime brokers including [[Bank of America]], Goldman Sachs and [[JPMorgan Chase]] had been "working with the fund as it seeks to meet margin requirements," that "The firm had been negotiating to sell its stake in [[Anthropic]]," and that a spokesman "said reports that it was marketing a stake it owns in Anthropic are not accurate." Citing a Fortune profile, he reported that Aschenbrenner was engaged to [[Avital Balwit]], chief of staff to Anthropic's chief executive, [[Dario Amodei]].[^10]
Faber reported on 30 July 2026, citing people familiar with the matter, that the fund "was forced to sell all of its public stock holdings" after losses on AI infrastructure investments "such as SK Hynix" and on "short positions in software companies such as Adobe," that it had grown to "as big as $45 billion at the start of July," and that "Ken Griffin's [[Citadel]] hedge fund reached a deal to buy the fund's publicly traded assets." He wrote that prime brokers including [[Bank of America]], Goldman Sachs and [[JPMorgan Chase]] had been "working with the fund as it seeks to meet margin requirements," that "The firm had been negotiating to sell its stake in [[Anthropic]]," and that a spokesman "said reports that it was marketing a stake it owns in Anthropic are not accurate." Citing a Fortune profile, he reported that Aschenbrenner was engaged to [[Avital Balwit]], chief of staff to Anthropic's chief executive, [[Dario Amodei]].[^12]
A second amendment to the Core Scientific Schedule 13D, filed on 4 August 2026 by Adriana Schwartz of [[Seward & Kissel]], reported 25,608,473 shares (8.1 percent) on 15 July and 14,089,395 shares (4.4 percent) on 4 August. Its schedule of transactions lists two sales on 3 August 2026 of 5,759,539 shares each, at 19.6896 and 19.4807 dollars, "sold through block trades with unaffiliated third parties."[^21] The SharonAI Schedule 13D followed on 28 August, and the amended Forms D, reporting the cumulative 4.35 billion and 5.18 billion dollars sold, were signed on 11 September 2026.[^12][^13][^20]
A second amendment to the Core Scientific Schedule 13D, filed on 4 August 2026 by Adriana Schwartz of [[Seward & Kissel]], reported 25,608,473 shares (8.1 percent) on 15 July and 14,089,395 shares (4.4 percent) on 4 August. Its schedule of transactions lists two sales on 3 August 2026 of 5,759,539 shares each, at 19.6896 and 19.4807 dollars, "sold through block trades with unaffiliated third parties."[^23] The SharonAI Schedule 13D followed on 28 August, and the amended Forms D, reporting the cumulative 4.35 billion and 5.18 billion dollars sold, were signed on 11 September 2026.[^14][^15][^22]
### Footnotes
@ -130,15 +130,17 @@ A second amendment to the Core Scientific Schedule 13D, filed on 4 August 2026 b
[^7]: Beckstead, Nick, Leopold Aschenbrenner, Ketan Ramakrishnan and others. "The FTX Future Fund team has resigned." Effective Altruism Forum, 11 November 2022. https://forum.effectivealtruism.org/posts/xafpj3on76uRDoBja/the-ftx-future-fund-team-has-resigned-1
[^8]: Open Philanthropy, "Centre for Effective Altruism, New Discretionary Fund," award date March 2018, grant investigator Holden Karnofsky, Wayback Machine capture of 5 January 2025. https://web.archive.org/web/20250105202534/https://www.openphilanthropy.org/grants/centre-for-effective-altruism-new-discretionary-fund/
[^9]: Woo, Erin, and Stephanie Palazzolo. "OpenAI Researchers, Including Ally of Sutskever, Fired for Alleged Leaking." The Information, 11 April 2024 (headline and byline; text as reproduced by CDO Times, 28 April 2024). https://www.theinformation.com/articles/openai-researchers-including-ally-of-sutskever-fired-for-alleged-leaking ; https://cdotimes.com/2024/04/28/openai-researchers-including-ally-of-sutskever-fired-for-alleged-leaking-the-information/
[^10]: Faber, David. "Leopold Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness sells entire book of public investments, sources say." CNBC, 30 July 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/30/leopold-aschenbrenners-hedge-fund-is-facing-steep-ai-losses.html
[^11]: Aschenbrenner, Leopold. "Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead," June 2024, site home page. https://situational-awareness.ai/
[^12]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Situational Awareness Partners LP (CIK 0002038540): Form D, accession 0000935836-24-000602, filed 23 September 2024; Forms D/A, accessions 0000935836-25-000591 (signed 5 September 2025), 0000935836-25-000734 (29 December 2025), 0000935836-26-000153 (10 March 2026) and 0000935836-26-000486 (11 September 2026). https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0002038540
[^13]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Situational Awareness Offshore LP (CIK 0002048430): Form D, accession 0000935836-24-000752, filed 12 December 2024; Forms D/A, accessions 0000935836-25-000718 (8 December 2025), 0000935836-25-000735 (29 December 2025), 0000935836-26-000154 (10 March 2026) and 0000935836-26-000484 (11 September 2026). https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0002048430
[^14]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Form D, "Situational Awareness LP Nov 2024 a Series of CGF2021 LLC" (CIK 0002047424), accession 0002047424-24-000001, filed 5 December 2024. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2047424/000204742424000001/primary_doc.xml
[^15]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, "Situational Awareness LP," CRD 333011, firm summary, retrieved 1 October 2026; Form ADV, other-than-annual amendment filed 11 June 2026, Items 5 and 7.B and Schedules A and D, Section 7.B.(1). https://api.adviserinfo.sec.gov/search/firm/333011 ; https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/333011/PDF/333011.pdf
[^16]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Forms D, SAF FSC2 LP (CIK 0002131438), accession 0000935836-26-000242, and SAF PIC LP (CIK 0002131439), accession 0000935836-26-000243, each filed 12 May 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2131438/000093583626000242/primary_doc.xml ; https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2131439/000093583626000243/primary_doc.xml
[^17]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Forms 13F-HR of Situational Awareness LP (CIK 0002045724), cover pages and information tables: accessions 0000935836-25-000120 (31 December 2024), 0002045724-25-000002 (31 March 2025), 0002045724-25-000006 (30 June 2025), 0002045724-25-000008 (30 September 2025), 0002045724-26-000002 (31 December 2025), 0002045724-26-000008 (31 March 2026) and 0000935836-26-000418 (30 June 2026). https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0002045724&type=13F-HR
[^18]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Form 13F-HR of Situational Awareness Partners LP (CIK 0002038540), accession 0002038540-26-000004, period 31 March 2026. https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0002038540&type=13F-HR
[^19]: Core Scientific, Inc., definitive merger proxy statement (Schedule 14A, DEFM14A), accession 0001140361-25-036346, filed 26 September 2025, "Beneficial Ownership of Core Scientific Common Stock," note 14. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1839341/000114036125036346/ny20053622x1_defm14a.htm
[^20]: Securities and Exchange Commission, filings by Situational Awareness LP: Schedule 13G, Nebius Group N.V., accession 0000935836-26-000303, filed 27 May 2026; Schedule 13G, SharonAI Holdings Inc. (CIK 0002068385), accession 0000935836-26-000334, filed 29 June 2026, and 13G/A, accession 0000935836-26-000416, filed 14 August 2026; Schedule 13D, accession 0000935836-26-000468, filed 28 August 2026, Items 3, 4 and 6; Schedule 13D/A, accession 0000935836-26-000500, filed 17 September 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2045724/000093583626000303/primary_doc.xml ; https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2068385/000093583626000468/primary_doc.xml ; https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2068385/000093583626000500/primary_doc.xml
[^21]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Schedule 13D/A (Amendment No. 2), Core Scientific, Inc., accession 0000919574-26-004796, filed 4 August 2026, cover pages, Item 5 and Exhibit 99.2 ("Transactions in the Past 60 Days"). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1839341/000091957426004796/primary_doc.xml
[^10]: Same transcript, footnote 1 to "a major security incident occurred." https://www.dwarkesh.com/p/leopold-aschenbrenner
[^11]: Coldewey, Devin, "OpenAI breach is a reminder that AI companies are treasure troves for hackers," *TechCrunch,* July 5, 2024. https://techcrunch.com/2024/07/05/openai-breach-is-a-reminder-that-ai-companies-are-treasure-troves-for-hackers/
[^12]: Faber, David. "Leopold Aschenbrenner's Situational Awareness sells entire book of public investments, sources say." CNBC, 30 July 2026. https://www.cnbc.com/2026/07/30/leopold-aschenbrenners-hedge-fund-is-facing-steep-ai-losses.html
[^13]: Aschenbrenner, Leopold. "Situational Awareness: The Decade Ahead," June 2024, site home page. https://situational-awareness.ai/
[^14]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Situational Awareness Partners LP (CIK 0002038540): Form D, accession 0000935836-24-000602, filed 23 September 2024; Forms D/A, accessions 0000935836-25-000591 (signed 5 September 2025), 0000935836-25-000734 (29 December 2025), 0000935836-26-000153 (10 March 2026) and 0000935836-26-000486 (11 September 2026). https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0002038540
[^15]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Situational Awareness Offshore LP (CIK 0002048430): Form D, accession 0000935836-24-000752, filed 12 December 2024; Forms D/A, accessions 0000935836-25-000718 (8 December 2025), 0000935836-25-000735 (29 December 2025), 0000935836-26-000154 (10 March 2026) and 0000935836-26-000484 (11 September 2026). https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0002048430
[^16]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Form D, "Situational Awareness LP Nov 2024 a Series of CGF2021 LLC" (CIK 0002047424), accession 0002047424-24-000001, filed 5 December 2024. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2047424/000204742424000001/primary_doc.xml
[^17]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Investment Adviser Public Disclosure, "Situational Awareness LP," CRD 333011, firm summary, retrieved 1 October 2026; Form ADV, other-than-annual amendment filed 11 June 2026, Items 5 and 7.B and Schedules A and D, Section 7.B.(1). https://api.adviserinfo.sec.gov/search/firm/333011 ; https://reports.adviserinfo.sec.gov/reports/ADV/333011/PDF/333011.pdf
[^18]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Forms D, SAF FSC2 LP (CIK 0002131438), accession 0000935836-26-000242, and SAF PIC LP (CIK 0002131439), accession 0000935836-26-000243, each filed 12 May 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2131438/000093583626000242/primary_doc.xml ; https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2131439/000093583626000243/primary_doc.xml
[^19]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Forms 13F-HR of Situational Awareness LP (CIK 0002045724), cover pages and information tables: accessions 0000935836-25-000120 (31 December 2024), 0002045724-25-000002 (31 March 2025), 0002045724-25-000006 (30 June 2025), 0002045724-25-000008 (30 September 2025), 0002045724-26-000002 (31 December 2025), 0002045724-26-000008 (31 March 2026) and 0000935836-26-000418 (30 June 2026). https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0002045724&type=13F-HR
[^20]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Form 13F-HR of Situational Awareness Partners LP (CIK 0002038540), accession 0002038540-26-000004, period 31 March 2026. https://www.sec.gov/cgi-bin/browse-edgar?action=getcompany&CIK=0002038540&type=13F-HR
[^21]: Core Scientific, Inc., definitive merger proxy statement (Schedule 14A, DEFM14A), accession 0001140361-25-036346, filed 26 September 2025, "Beneficial Ownership of Core Scientific Common Stock," note 14. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1839341/000114036125036346/ny20053622x1_defm14a.htm
[^22]: Securities and Exchange Commission, filings by Situational Awareness LP: Schedule 13G, Nebius Group N.V., accession 0000935836-26-000303, filed 27 May 2026; Schedule 13G, SharonAI Holdings Inc. (CIK 0002068385), accession 0000935836-26-000334, filed 29 June 2026, and 13G/A, accession 0000935836-26-000416, filed 14 August 2026; Schedule 13D, accession 0000935836-26-000468, filed 28 August 2026, Items 3, 4 and 6; Schedule 13D/A, accession 0000935836-26-000500, filed 17 September 2026. https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2045724/000093583626000303/primary_doc.xml ; https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2068385/000093583626000468/primary_doc.xml ; https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/2068385/000093583626000500/primary_doc.xml
[^23]: Securities and Exchange Commission, Schedule 13D/A (Amendment No. 2), Core Scientific, Inc., accession 0000919574-26-004796, filed 4 August 2026, cover pages, Item 5 and Exhibit 99.2 ("Transactions in the Past 60 Days"). https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1839341/000091957426004796/primary_doc.xml

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10 - PEOPLE/(A-G)/Sam Altman.md
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@ -12,7 +12,13 @@ summary: "Sam Altman is an American entrepreneur who led Y Combinator, cofounded
born: 1985-04-22
location: "San Francisco, California"
created: 2026-06-19
updated: 2026-06-19
updated: 2026-10-13
relations:
- type: head_of
with: "[[OpenAI]]"
start: 2019
role: "chief executive"
fn: 2
---
Sam Altman (born April 22, 1985) is an American entrepreneur and investor who cofounded and leads [[OpenAI]], the company at the center of the generative-AI era. A [[Stanford University]] dropout, he founded the location startup [[Loopt]] in the first [[Y Combinator]] batch in 2005, ran Y Combinator as president from 2014 to 2019, and cofounded OpenAI with [[Elon Musk]] in 2015. His career runs through the same [[Silicon Valley]] founder network as [[Peter Thiel]], who was a part-time partner at Y Combinator during Altman's presidency.[^1][^2]
@ -21,25 +27,34 @@ Sam Altman (born April 22, 1985) is an American entrepreneur and investor who co
Altman became president of Y Combinator, the startup accelerator, in 2014 and expanded it into research and large-scale funding before leaving in 2019 to focus on OpenAI, where he became chief executive when the organization created its capped-profit structure and took a [[Microsoft]] investment. Under Altman, OpenAI released [[ChatGPT]] in 2022 and became the most prominent AI company in the world.[^2][^3]
Altman's first company, Loopt, raised about 30 million dollars and was acquired by the Green Dot Corporation in March 2012 for 43.4 million dollars after failing to gain traction. At Y Combinator he widened the accelerator's reach, launched the YC Research arm in 2015 (which seeded OpenAI), and pushed into late-stage funding. He took no salary as OpenAI chief executive and held no equity in the company, an arrangement he cited as evidence of disinterested motives during the 2023 board fight, though he holds stakes through OpenAI's startup fund and across a wide personal portfolio. In the 2025 restructuring that converted OpenAI's for-profit arm into a public-benefit corporation valued at 500 billion dollars, Altman remained chief executive without a founder's equity grant of the kind common at companies of that scale.[^2][^6]
Altman's first company, Loopt, raised about 30 million dollars and was acquired by the Green Dot Corporation in March 2012 for 43.4 million dollars after failing to gain traction. At Y Combinator he widened the accelerator's reach, launched the YC Research arm in 2015 (which seeded OpenAI), and pushed into late-stage funding. He took no salary as OpenAI chief executive and held no equity in the company, an arrangement he cited as evidence of disinterested motives during the 2023 board fight, though he holds stakes through OpenAI's startup fund and across a wide personal portfolio. In the 2025 restructuring that converted OpenAI's for-profit arm into a public-benefit corporation valued at 500 billion dollars, Altman remained chief executive without a founder's equity grant of the kind common at companies of that scale.[^2][^4]
### The 2023 Firing and Reinstatement
On November 17, 2023, OpenAI's nonprofit board removed Altman, saying he had not been "consistently candid"; the directors included [[Ilya Sutskever]], [[Helen Toner]], and [[Tasha McCauley]], the latter two tied to the [[Effective Altruism]] movement, and the dispute turned on the pace of AI commercialization. After roughly 700 employees threatened to resign and Microsoft offered to hire him, Altman was reinstated within days under a reconstituted board. The episode positioned Altman and the commercial wing against the effective-altruism and AI-safety faction that had grown out of the [[Rationalist Community]].[^3][^4]
On November 17, 2023, OpenAI's nonprofit board removed Altman, saying he had not been "consistently candid"; the directors included [[Ilya Sutskever]], [[Helen Toner]], and [[Tasha McCauley]], the latter two tied to the [[Effective Altruism]] movement, and the dispute turned on the pace of AI commercialization. After roughly 700 employees threatened to resign and Microsoft offered to hire him, Altman was reinstated within days under a reconstituted board. The episode positioned Altman and the commercial wing against the effective-altruism and AI-safety faction that had grown out of the [[Rationalist Community]].[^3][^5]
Microsoft chief executive [[Satya Nadella]] announced on November 20, 2023 that Altman and [[Greg Brockman]] would lead a new advanced-research lab inside Microsoft, a threat that gave Microsoft leverage and the staff a destination if the board held firm. The reconstituted board that returned Altman was chaired by [[Bret Taylor]] and added [[Larry Summers]], while Sutskever, McCauley, and Toner departed. In May 2024 Toner gave a public account alleging the board learned of ChatGPT's launch from Twitter rather than from Altman and that he had withheld his ownership of the OpenAI Startup Fund, claims Altman's allies disputed. A later law-firm review commissioned by the new board found the prior board's concerns did not warrant his removal.[^3][^4]
Microsoft chief executive [[Satya Nadella]] announced on November 20, 2023 that Altman and [[Greg Brockman]] would lead a new advanced-research lab inside Microsoft, a threat that gave Microsoft leverage and the staff a destination if the board held firm. The reconstituted board that returned Altman was chaired by [[Bret Taylor]] and added [[Larry Summers]], while Sutskever, McCauley, and Toner departed. In May 2024 Toner gave a public account alleging the board learned of ChatGPT's launch from Twitter rather than from Altman and that he had withheld his ownership of the OpenAI Startup Fund, claims Altman's allies disputed. A later law-firm review commissioned by the new board found the prior board's concerns did not warrant his removal.[^3][^5]
### Worldcoin and Other Ventures
In 2019 Altman cofounded Worldcoin (operated by [[Tools for Humanity]]), a project that scans people's irises with a device called the Orb to create a global proof-of-personhood identity tied to a cryptocurrency, which drew regulatory scrutiny in multiple countries over its biometric data collection. Altman has also funded longevity, nuclear-fusion, and biotechnology ventures, the same frontier-technology categories favored across the Thiel network.[^5]
In 2019 Altman cofounded Worldcoin (operated by [[Tools for Humanity]]), a project that scans people's irises with a device called the Orb to create a global proof-of-personhood identity tied to a cryptocurrency, which drew regulatory scrutiny in multiple countries over its biometric data collection. Altman has also funded longevity, nuclear-fusion, and biotechnology ventures, the same frontier-technology categories favored across the Thiel network.[^6]
Worldcoin raised about 115 million dollars from Blockchain Capital in 2023, with [[Andreessen Horowitz]]'s a16z Crypto and Bain Capital Crypto among earlier backers, and offered users 25 free WLD tokens for an iris scan. Regulators moved against it across multiple jurisdictions: Kenya suspended its operations in August 2023 over data-misuse fears and a court later ordered the deletion of Kenyans' biometric data, and Spain's data-protection authority used emergency [[General Data Protection Regulation|GDPR]] powers in March 2024 to suspend the project for up to three months. Among Altman's other ventures, he was chairman of and an early investor in the nuclear-fission firm Oklo, which he took public in 2024 through his SPAC AltC Acquisition Corp before stepping down as chair in 2025; he led a 500-million-dollar round in the fusion company Helion Energy in 2021; and he supplied the entire 180-million-dollar seed round of the longevity startup Retro Biosciences out of his own money, a stake revealed by MIT Technology Review in March 2023.[^5][^6]
Worldcoin raised about 115 million dollars from Blockchain Capital in 2023, with [[Andreessen Horowitz]]'s a16z Crypto and Bain Capital Crypto among earlier backers, and offered users 25 free WLD tokens for an iris scan. Regulators moved against it across multiple jurisdictions: Kenya suspended its operations in August 2023 over data-misuse fears and a court later ordered the deletion of Kenyans' biometric data, and Spain's data-protection authority used emergency [[General Data Protection Regulation|GDPR]] powers in March 2024 to suspend the project for up to three months. Among Altman's other ventures, he was chairman of and an early investor in the nuclear-fission firm Oklo, which he took public in 2024 through his SPAC AltC Acquisition Corp before stepping down as chair in 2025; he led a 500-million-dollar round in the fusion company Helion Energy in 2021; and he supplied the entire 180-million-dollar seed round of the longevity startup Retro Biosciences out of his own money, a stake revealed by MIT Technology Review in March 2023.[^4][^6]
### Gulf Visits and Stargate UAE
On May 13, 2025 Altman attended the Saudi-U.S. Investment Forum in [[Riyadh]] during the visit of President [[Donald Trump]] to [[Saudi Arabia]]. Photo coverage of the forum lists "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman" among the executives present, and a Reuters photograph carries the caption "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman looks on as he visits Riyadh with U.S. President Donald Trump and Tesla CEO Elon Musk (both not pictured), in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, May 13, 2025."[^7]
On May 22, 2025 OpenAI announced [[Stargate (AI infrastructure)]] UAE in [[Abu Dhabi]], which the company described as "the first international deployment of Stargate, OpenAI's AI infrastructure platform," with partners [[G42]], [[Oracle]], [[NVIDIA]], [[Cisco]] and [[SoftBank]].[^8][^9]
### Footnotes
[^1]: "Altman and Musk launched OpenAI as a nonprofit 10 years ago. Now they're rivals," *CNBC,* December 11, 2025. https://www.cnbc.com/2025/12/11/openai-began-decade-ago-as-nonprofit-lab-musk-and-altman-now-rivals.html
[^2]: "The messy, secretive reality behind OpenAI's bid to save the world," *MIT Technology Review,* February 17, 2020. https://www.technologyreview.com/2020/02/17/844721/ai-openai-moonshot-elon-musk-sam-altman-greg-brockman-messy-secretive-reality/
[^3]: "Effective Altruism's Role in the OpenAI Chaos, Explained," *Bloomberg,* November 22, 2023. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2023-11-22/effective-altruism-s-role-in-the-openai-chaos-explained
[^4]: "What the chaos at OpenAI says about the future of the industry," *Columbia Journalism Review,* 2023. https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/openai_sam_altman_ouster.php
[^5]: "Worldcoin and Tools for Humanity," on the iris-scanning identity project and its regulatory scrutiny; contemporaneous press coverage, 2023 onward; "Kenya suspends Worldcoin scans over security, privacy and financial concerns," *TechCrunch,* August 2, 2023, and "Worldcoin hit with temporary ban in Spain over privacy concerns," *TechCrunch,* March 6, 2024.
[^6]: "Sam Altman invested $180 million into a company trying to delay death," *MIT Technology Review,* March 8, 2023; "Sam Altman takes nuclear startup Oklo public to power AI ambitions," *CNBC,* May 10, 2024. https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/03/08/1069523/sam-altman-investment-180-million-retro-biosciences-longevity-death/
[^4]: "Sam Altman invested $180 million into a company trying to delay death," *MIT Technology Review,* March 8, 2023; "Sam Altman takes nuclear startup Oklo public to power AI ambitions," *CNBC,* May 10, 2024. https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/03/08/1069523/sam-altman-investment-180-million-retro-biosciences-longevity-death/
[^5]: "What the chaos at OpenAI says about the future of the industry," *Columbia Journalism Review,* 2023. https://www.cjr.org/the_media_today/openai_sam_altman_ouster.php
[^6]: "Worldcoin and Tools for Humanity," on the iris-scanning identity project and its regulatory scrutiny; contemporaneous press coverage, 2023 onward; "Kenya suspends Worldcoin scans over security, privacy and financial concerns," *TechCrunch,* August 2, 2023, and "Worldcoin hit with temporary ban in Spain over privacy concerns," *TechCrunch,* March 6, 2024.
[^7]: "Photos: Tech CEOs mingle with Trump and Saudi crown prince at investment forum in Riyadh," *NBC* (NBC San Diego), May 13, 2025: "as well as other high-profile executives and power players such as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman"; Reuters photograph caption, credited to Brian Snyder: "OpenAI CEO Sam Altman looks on as he visits Riyadh with U.S. President Donald Trump." https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/business/money-report/photos-tech-ceos-mingle-with-trump-and-saudi-crown-prince-at-investment-forum-in-riyadh/3824637
[^8]: OpenAI, "Introducing Stargate UAE," May 22, 2025 (Wayback capture: https://web.archive.org/web/20250522id_/https://openai.com/index/introducing-stargate-uae/): "the first international deployment of Stargate, OpenAI's AI infrastructure platform." https://openai.com/index/introducing-stargate-uae/
[^9]: "New update on Stargate UAE: First phase of 200MW to complete by 2026," *Gulf News*, October 16, 2025: "Announced in May 2025, the project brings together G42, OpenAI, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco, and SoftBank." https://gulfnews.com/business/markets/stargate-uae-first-phase-of-200mw-to-complete-by-2026-1.500310364