OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever launches ‘safe’ AI firm

Ilya Sutskever / Photo credit: OpenAI

Ilya Sutskever, one of the co-founders of OpenAI, has launched a new AI firm. Called Safe Superintelligence, the company aims to build its namesake: a superintelligence that puts safety ahead of advancement.

“Our singular focus means no distraction by management overhead or product cycles, and our business model means safety, security, and progress are all insulated from short-term commercial pressures,” the company said on its website.

Sutskever co-founded Safe Superintelligence with Daniel Gross, previously Apple’s AI head and co-founder of social app Cue, as well as Daniel Levy, a former OpenAI researcher. The company has offices in Palo Alto and Tel Aviv.

Safe Superintelligence’s launch comes just days after OpenAI CEO Sam Altman was reported to be mulling a purely for-profit model for his company. However, this would mean taking away control from OpenAI’s nonprofit board.

Sutskever had led the board vote to fire Altman late last year, a move he later said he regretted. While Sutskever remained employed at OpenAI, he never returned to work following Altman’s reinstatement. He left the company in May.

Earlier this month, Altman reportedly told staff that OpenAI is on track for US$3.4 billion in annualized revenue this year – more than double the US$1.6 billion it was said to hit in late 2023.

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