--- description: OpenAI co-founder and former chief scientist Ilya Sutskever announced that he’s launching a new venture dubbed Safe Superintelligence Inc. title: Former OpenAI Chief Scientist Announces New Company image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e10032d47dc2a8a/698a57f286f68e3c4e6f53fe/sutskever.jpg?branch=production&width=2400&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Business](/section/business/) ## Business Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Tech](/tag/time-section-tech/) ## Tech Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Former OpenAI Chief Scientist Announces New Safety-Focused Company  by [Harry Booth](/author/harry-booth/)  ## Harry Booth Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Booth is a reporter at TIME. Jun 19, 2024 9:05 PM CUT  Ilya Sutskever speaks at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv on June 5, 2023. Ilya Sutskever speaks at Tel Aviv University in Tel Aviv on June 5, 2023.Jack Guez—AFP via Getty Images  by [Harry Booth](/author/harry-booth/)  ## Harry Booth Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close Booth is a reporter at TIME. Jun 19, 2024 9:05 PM CUT Ilya Sutskever, a co-founder and former chief scientist of OpenAI, [announced](https://x.com/ilyasut/status/1803472978753303014 "undefined") on Wednesday that he’s launching a new venture dubbed Safe Superintelligence Inc. Sutskever said on X that the new lab will focus solely on building a safe “superintelligence”—an industry term for a hypothetical system that’s smarter than humans. Sutskever is joined at Safe SuperIntelligence Inc. by co-founders Daniel Gross, an investor and engineer who worked on AI at Apple till 2017, and Daniel Levy, another former OpenAI employee. The [new](https://ssi.inc/ "undefined") American-based firm will have offices in Palo Alto, Calif., and Tel Aviv, according to a description Sutskever shared. > [](https://twitter.com/ilyasut/status/1803472978753303014) Sutskever was one of OpenAI’s founding members, and was chief scientist during the company’s meteoric rise following the release of ChatGPT. In November, Sutskever took part in the [infamous attempt](https://time.com/6338704/sam-altman-openai-ceo-return/ "undefined") to oust OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, only to later [change his mind](https://x.com/ilyasut/status/1726590052392956028?lang=en "undefined") and support Altman’s return. When Sutskever announced his resignation in May, he [said](https://x.com/ilyasut/status/1790517455628198322?ref%5Fsrc=twsrc%5Etfw%7Ctwcamp%5Etweetembed%7Ctwterm%5E1790517455628198322%7Ctwgr%5Ee5158129a0cca96f433b1247516f6f2a74328a32%7Ctwcon%5Es1%5F&ref%5Furl=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.theverge.com%2F2024%2F5%2F14%2F24156920%2Fopenai-chief-scientist-ilya-sutskever-leaves "undefined") he was “confident that OpenAI will build AGI that is both safe and beneficial” under Altman’s leadership. Safe Superintelligence Inc. says it will only aim to release one product: the system in its name. This model will insulate the company from commercial pressures, its founders wrote. However, it’s currently unclear who will fund the new venture's development or what exactly its business model will eventually be. “Our singular focus means no distraction by management overhead or product cycles,” the announcement reads, perhaps subtly taking aim at OpenAI. In May, another senior OpenAI member, Jan Leike, who co-led a safety team with Sutskever, [accused](https://x.com/janleike/status/1791498184671605209 "undefined") the company of prioritizing “shiny products” over safety. Leike’s accusations came around the time that [six](https://www.transformernews.ai/p/openai-is-haemorrhaging-safety-talent "undefined") other safety-conscious employees left the company. Altman and OpenAI’s President, Greg Brockman, [responded](https://x.com/gdb/status/1791869138132218351 "undefined") to Leike’s accusations by acknowledging there was more work to be done, saying “we take our role here very seriously and carefully weigh feedback on our actions.” [**Read more:** _A Timeline of All the Recent Accusations Leveled at OpenAI and Sam Altman_](https://time.com/6986711/openai-sam-altman-accusations-controversies-timeline/ "undefined") In an interview with [Bloomberg](https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2024-06-19/openai-co-founder-plans-new-ai-focused-research-lab?accessToken=eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJzb3VyY2UiOiJTdWJzY3JpYmVyR2lmdGVkQXJ0aWNsZSIsImlhdCI6MTcxODgxNjU5NywiZXhwIjoxNzE5NDIxMzk3LCJhcnRpY2xlSWQiOiJTRkM3ODJUMEcxS1cwMCIsImJjb25uZWN0SWQiOiI5MTM4NzMzNDcyQkY0QjlGQTg0OTI3QTVBRjY1QzBCRiJ9.9s8N3QuUytwRVZ6dzDwZ6tPOGDsV8u05fpTrUdlHcXg&sref=nPlhheXZ "undefined"), Sutskever elaborated on Safe Superintelligence Inc.’s approach, saying, “By safe, we mean safe like nuclear safety as opposed to safe as in ‘trust and safety’”; one of [OpenAI](https://openai.com/safety-standards/ "undefined")’s core safety principles is to “be a pioneer in trust and safety.” While many details about the new company remain to be revealed, its founders have one message for those in the industry who are intrigued: They’re hiring. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/6990076/safe-superintelligence-inc-announced/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/6990076/safe-superintelligence-inc-announced/"},"headline":"Former OpenAI Chief Scientist Announces New Safety-Focused Company","datePublished":"2024-06-19T21:05:03.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T08:53:23.300Z","description":"Ilya Sutskever announced a new venture that will focus solely on building a safe “superintelligence”—an industry term for a hypothetical system that’s smarter than humans.","url":"https://time.com/6990076/safe-superintelligence-inc-announced/","keywords":["Tech","News Desk"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e10032d47dc2a8a/698a57f286f68e3c4e6f53fe/sutskever.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Harry Booth","jobTitle":"Booth is a reporter at TIME.","url":"https://time.com/author/harry-booth/"}],"articleSection":"Business","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt8e10032d47dc2a8a/698a57f286f68e3c4e6f53fe/sutskever.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Ilya Sutskever","caption":"Ilya Sutskever","creditText":"Jack Guez—AFP via Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/business/","name":"Business"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/time-section-tech/","name":"Tech"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/6990076/safe-superintelligence-inc-announced/","name":"Former OpenAI Chief Scientist Announces New Safety-Focused Company"}}]}] ```