OpenAI Co-Founder Ilya Sutskever's AI Startup Raises $1B From Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia As Sam Altman-Led Company Faces Exodus

Safe Superintelligence (SSI), co-founded by Ilya Sutskever, has raised $1 billion to develop advanced artificial intelligence systems.

What Happened: SSI, established just three months ago, aims to build safe AI systems that surpass human capabilities. The startup, currently with 10 employees, plans to use the funds to acquire computing power and hire top talent. It operates from Palo Alto, California, and Tel Aviv, Israel, the company confirmed Reuters report on Thursday.

Investors in this funding round include prominent venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, DST Global, and SV Angel. NFDG, an investment partnership run by Nat Friedman and SSI’s CEO Daniel Gross, also participated.

Gross emphasized the importance of having investors who understand and support SSI’s mission to develop safe superintelligence. He stated, “It’s important for us to be surrounded by investors who understand, respect and support our mission.”

Sutskever, who co-founded SSI in June, is a significant figure in AI technology. He previously served as OpenAI‘s chief scientist and was involved in the controversial ousting and subsequent reinstatement of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman.

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Why It Matters: The launch of SSI comes at a critical juncture for Sutskever, who resigned from OpenAI in May. His departure followed significant internal turmoil, including a “mass exodus” from OpenAI’s AI safety team, which raised concerns about the company’s leadership under CEO Altman.

Just a month after leaving OpenAI, Sutskever launched SSI, emphasizing that “superintelligence is within reach.” This new venture aims to address the very AI safety issues that plagued his former employer.

Moreover, Sutskever’s reputation in the AI community is notable. Elon Musk once described him as the “linchpin for OpenAI being successful,” highlighting the high regard in which he is held.

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Sam Altman Ilya Sutskever | Photos courtesy: Flickr and Stanford University

This story was generated using Benzinga Neuro and edited by Kaustubh Bagalkote