Sutskever’s new AI company will focus on security and safety | Credit: Photo by JACK GUEZ / AFP) (Photo by JACK GUEZ/AFP via Getty Images

OpenAI co-founder and former chief scientist, Ilya Sutskever, said on Wednesday (19 June) that he is founding a new AI company. 

The newly formed company will aim to create a safe AI environment. Safe Superintelligence, which has offices in Tel Aviv and Palo Alto, will also be co-led by former OpenAI researcher Daniel Levy and co-founder and former AI lead of Cue, Daniel Gross.

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“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 wrote on X.

Sutskever left OpenAI after playing a central role in the controversial firing and rehiring of CEO Sam Altman in November 2023. 

The co-founder and chief scientist was on the board of directors which reportedly helped orchestrate the firing of Altman. However, days later Sutskever backtracked on his decision and signed a letter calling for Altman’s rehiring. 

Upon Altman’s return, Sutskever was removed from the board of directors and his position in the company remained unclear. According to reports, Sutskever had not been seen during the company’s daily operations for the past several months.

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Following the announcement of Sutskever’s departure, Altman shared that the news was “very sad” and hailed the co-founder as “one of the greatest minds of our generation”.

“This is very sad to me; Ilya is easily one of the greatest minds of our generation, a guiding light of our field, and a dear friend,” Altman wrote on X. 

“His brilliance and vision are well known; his warmth and compassion are less well known but no less important,” Altman added. 

GlobalData forecasts that the overall AI market will be worth $909bn by 2030, having grown at a compound annual rate of 35% between 2022 and 2030.

In the GenAI space, revenues are expected to grow from $1.8bn in 2022, to $33bn in 2027, a CAGR of 80%.