Ilya Sutskever’s Safe Superintelligence Achieves $32 Billion Valuation

The new initiative, led by Ilya Sutskever—one of OpenAI’s co-founders and former chief scientist—under the name Safe Superintelligence (SSI). This innovative new initiative has been making a splash lately. About SSI SSI was co-founded by Daniel Gross and Daniel Levy. Their overarching mission is to develop a product that ensures the eventual creation of safe superintelligence, an important breakthrough in artificial intelligence technology.

It comes just a month after Sutskever’s aborted coup ousting OpenAI’s CEO Sam Altman in May 2024, which was deeply rooted in the nonprofit’s leadership. Regardless of the internal strife at OpenAI, Sutskever’s vision for SSI has lured billions in investment. The company has grown to an astounding $1 billion in funding. They’re in the process of finalizing another funding round, $1 billion, again led by Greenoaks. That flood of capital has pushed SSI’s valuation to an astounding $32 billion.

As of this writing, the company’s official website is just a holdsies. It mentions their mission statement which focuses on creating a safe superintelligence. By prioritizing safety in development of AI tools, SSI is demonstrating its commitment to address ethical challenges. In doing so, it tackles the real-world problems that advanced artificial intelligence raises, too.

The development of public-facing AI technology is happening so fast, it’s hard to keep up. Comparatively, SSI takes the lead over other initiatives by putting safety first. We can all agree Sutskever’s work is very, very important. At OpenAI, he was part of building some of the most sophisticated general-use AI models ever created.

The Financial Times took note of SSI’s astounding fundraising successes and skyrocketing valuation. This is further evidence of the increasing momentum among investors to back AI safety-focused efforts. The support from top-tier venture firms, like Greenoaks represents a robust vote of confidence in SSI’s mission and leadership.

At SSI, we’re working hard to take the next step of creating a safe superintelligence. The industry should be paying very close attention to how this unfolds. To fill these roles, Sutskever arguably brought the most extraordinary expertise. Backed by deep capital from aligned financial partners, SSI is on a mission to usher in a new era of safe AI.