Safe Superintelligence, an artificial intelligence research lab established by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, has raised $1 billion in funding.
The announcement on Wednesday highlighted contributions from notable venture capital firms Andreessen Horowitz, Sequoia Capital, and SV Angel.
NFDG, the venture capital firm founded by Nat Friedman and Safe Superintelligence co-founder Daniel Gross, also participated in the funding round.
Sutskever, a prominent figure in the AI research community, played a pivotal role in developing OpenAI’s technology. His influence was evident when he was involved in the brief removal of OpenAI’s CEO, Sam Altman, last year, before advocating for Altman’s reinstatement.
Safe Superintelligence, launched by Sutskever in June following his departure from OpenAI, is focused on creating a powerful AI system within a research-oriented framework.
Unlike companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic, which offer AI products to consumers and businesses, Safe Superintelligence is dedicated to a long-term vision. It is focused on developing a safe superintelligence without engaging in the commercial AI market in the near term, ensuring a thorough and careful approach to its development.
Safe Superintelligence’s commitment to its primary goal is unwavering. As Sutskever stated, “This company is special in that its first product will be the safe superintelligence, and it will not do anything else until then.”
“It will be fully insulated from the outside pressures of dealing with a large and complicated product and being stuck in a competitive rat race.”
