Ex-OpenAI Chief Scientist's New Venture SSI Secures $1 Billion Funding
1min read AI startup Safe Superintelligence (SSI), co-founded by former OpenAI Chief Scientist Ilya Sutskever, has raised $1 billion in cash to help develop a safe AI system that far exceeds human capabilities.
SSI currently has 10 employees and plans to use the funds to acquire computing power and hire top talent. SSI will focus on building a highly trusted small team of researchers and engineers in Palo Alto, California, and Tel Aviv, Israel.
SSI declined to disclose its valuation, but sources familiar with the matter estimate it to be around $5 billion. This comes after a waning interest in funding these AI startups, which may not be profitable for a long time. However, SSI's deal shows that some investors are still willing to make huge bets on outstanding talents focused on fundamental AI research.
Investors participating in SSI's funding round include top venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, DST Global, and SV Angel. Additionally, NFDG, an investment company run by former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman and SSI CEO Daniel Gross, also participated in the investment.
Currently, AI safety, which is about preventing AI from causing harm, is a hot topic. There are concerns that an uncontrollable AI might damage human interests or even lead to human extinction.
Recently, California legislators passed a controversial bill aimed at setting new limits on AI to ensure that AI technology is innovative, safe, and reliable. However, the bill has caused a split in the industry, facing opposition from companies like OpenAI and Google, but receiving support from Anthropic and Elon Musk's xAI.
Sutskever, 37, is one of the most influential technical experts in AI. Affected by the dismissal of OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, Sutskever's role on the OpenAI board was weakened. Later, he was removed from the board and left the company in May. In June, he co-founded SSI with Gross and former OpenAI researcher Daniel Levy.
Sutskever said his new project is meaningful, and SSI is currently very focused on hiring employees who fit its culture. Gross said they spent hours reviewing whether candidates have good character and are looking for people with extraordinary abilities, rather than overemphasizing qualifications and experience in the field.
SSI also stated that it plans to collaborate with cloud providers and chip companies to fund its computing power needs but has not yet decided which companies to partner with. Typically, AI startups would choose to cooperate with companies like Microsoft and Nvidia to meet their infrastructure needs.