OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever raises $1 billion for his new AI firm

OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever raises  billion for his new AI firm


Ilya Sutskever, co-founder and chief scientist of OpenAI, speaks at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv, Israel, June 5, 2023.

Jack Guez | AFP | Getty Images

OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever, who left the artificial intelligence startup in May, has raised $1 billion from investors for his new AI company, Safe Superintelligence, or SSI.

The company announced in a post on X that investors included Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, DST Global and SV Angel, as well as NFDG, an investment partnership co-run by SSI executive Daniel Gross.

“We will pursue safe superintelligence in a straight shot, with one focus, one goal, and one product,” Sutskever wrote on X in May to announce the new venture.

Sutskever was OpenAI’s chief scientist and co-led the company’s Superalignment team with Jan Leike, who left in May to join rival AI firm Anthropic. Shortly after their departures, OpenAI disbanded the team, just one year after it announced the group. Some of the team members were reassigned to other teams within the company, a source familiar with the situation told CNBC at the time.

Leike wrote in a post on X at the time that OpenAI’s “safety culture and processes have taken a backseat to shiny products.”

Sutskever started SSI with Daniel Gross, who oversaw Apple’s AI and search efforts, and former OpenAI employee Daniel Levy. The company has offices in Palo Alto, California, and Tel Aviv, Israel.

“SSI is our mission, our name, and our entire product roadmap, because it is our sole focus,” the company posted on X. “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.”

Sutskever was one of the OpenAI board members involved in the temporary ouster of co-founder and CEO Sam Altman in November.

In November, OpenAI’s board said in a statement that Altman had not been “consistently candid in his communications with the board.” The issue quickly came to look more complex. The Wall Street Journal and other media outlets reported that Sutskever trained his focus on ensuring that artificial intelligence would not harm humans, while others, including Altman, were instead more eager to push ahead with delivering new technology.

Almost all of OpenAI’s employees signed an open letter saying they would leave in response to the board’s action. Days later, Altman was back at the company.

Following Altman’s sudden ouster and before his quick reinstatement, Sutskever publicly apologized for his role in the ordeal.

“I deeply regret my participation in the board’s actions,” Sutskever wrote in a post on X on Nov. 20. “I never intended to harm OpenAI. I love everything we’ve built together and I will do everything I can to reunite the company.”



Source

Google is using YouTube videos to train its AI video generator
Technology

Google is using YouTube videos to train its AI video generator

Silhouettes of laptop and mobile device users are seen next to a screen projection of the YouTube logo. Dado Ruvic | Reuters Google is using its expansive library of YouTube videos to train its artificial intelligence models, including Gemini and the Veo 3 video and audio generator, CNBC has learned. The tech company is turning […]

Read More
Samsung aims to catch up to Chinese rivals for thin foldable phones as Apple said to enter the fray
Technology

Samsung aims to catch up to Chinese rivals for thin foldable phones as Apple said to enter the fray

Samsung launched the Galaxy Z Fold6 at its Galaxy Unpacked event in Paris. The tech giant said the foldable device is thinner and lighter than its predecessor. Arjun Kharpal | CNBC Samsung will unveil a thinner version of its flagship foldable smartphone at a launch likely set to take place next month, as it battles […]

Read More
SpaceX’s Starship explodes during routine test in Texas
Technology

SpaceX’s Starship explodes during routine test in Texas

A SpaceX Starship is seen in Boca Chica, Texas in 2023. Patrick T. Fallon | Afp | Getty Images A SpaceX Starship rocket on Wednesday exploded at the Starbase facility in Texas during routine testing in preparation for a launch flight, according to local authorities and live stream footage. The rocket “experienced a major anomaly […]

Read More