OpenAI Co-founder Ilya Sutskever Starts New Venture To Focus On AI Safety

Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder of OpenAI, has unveiled a new venture, Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI), just a month after his departure from OpenAI. This new company aims to tackle AI safety head-on.

Sutskever's new endeavour is in collaboration with Daniel Gross, a former Y Combinator partner, and Daniel Levy, an ex-OpenAI engineer. Their combined expertise is set to drive SSI forward.

Image Courtesy: @ilyasut/Twitter

Focus on AI Safety

At OpenAI, Sutskever played a pivotal role in advancing AI safety, especially concerning "superintelligent" AI systems. He worked closely with Jan Leike on these efforts. However, both left OpenAI in May following disagreements with the leadership over AI safety approaches.

Leike now leads a team at Anthropic, another AI-focused company. Despite the split, Sutskever remains deeply committed to AI safety. In a 2023 blog post co-authored with Leike, he predicted that superintelligent AI could emerge within the decade and stressed the importance of controlling it.

SSI's Mission and Approach

On Wednesday afternoon, Sutskever announced SSI's formation via Twitter. He stated, "SSI is our mission, our name, and our entire product roadmap because it is our sole focus." The tweet emphasized that their team, investors, and business model are all aligned to achieve SSI's goals.

Sutskever elaborated that SSI aims to advance AI capabilities rapidly while ensuring safety measures are always ahead. This approach allows them to scale without distractions from management overhead or product cycles.

In an interview with Bloomberg, Sutskever discussed SSI but refrained from commenting on its funding or valuation. However, unlike OpenAI, which started as a non-profit in 2015 before restructuring due to financial needs, SSI is designed as a for-profit entity from the outset.

Recruiting Talent and Future Prospects

SSI has established offices in Palo Alto and Tel Aviv and is actively recruiting technical talent. Given the current interest in AI and the team's strong credentials, raising capital is unlikely to be an issue. Daniel Gross confidently told Bloomberg, "Out of all the problems we face, raising capital is not going to be one of them."

Sutskever's dedication to AI safety remains unwavering. His new venture aims to address the challenges posed by superintelligent AI through innovative engineering and scientific breakthroughs.