- SSI, co-founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, raised $1 billion to develop safe AI systems.
- SSI is currently valued at $5 billion and backed by investors like Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and others.
Safe Superintelligence (SSI), a new AI startup co-founded by OpenAI’s former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, has raised $1 billion to develop safe artificial intelligence systems. With a current team of 10 employees, SSI plans to use the funds to acquire computing power and hire top talent. Investors include venture capital firms such as Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, DST Global, and SV Angel. The company's valuation, according to sources, stands at $5 billion.
SSI, which is split between Palo Alto, California, and Tel Aviv, Israel, will focus on building a trusted team of researchers and engineers. CEO Daniel Gross emphasized the importance of creating a "straight shot to safe superintelligence" through focused R&D before launching its product.
"It's important for us to be surrounded by investors who understand, respect, and support our mission," Gross stated.
Sutskever, known as one of the leading figures in AI, co-founded SSI in June following his departure from OpenAI earlier this year. The startup aims to explore AI safety, a hot-button topic in the industry.
"I identified a mountain that's a bit different from what I was working on," Sutskever said, referring to his shift in focus. "If you do something different, then it becomes possible for you to do something special," he remarked.
The company is still considering partnerships with cloud providers and chip companies for its infrastructure needs but has yet to finalize any agreements. Sutskever plans to take a different approach to AI scaling compared to his former employer.
Edited by Harshajit Sarmah
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Harshajit Sarmah
