OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever says he’s getting into the CEO function at Secure Superintelligence, the AI startup he launched in 2024. In a put up on X , Sutskever confirmed Thursday that Daniel Gross, the startup’s co-founder and CEO, departed the corporate as of June 29. Secure Superintelligence co-founder Daniel Levy is turning into president of the startup, in keeping with Sutskever.
The announcement follows weeks of reporting that Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg was in superior talks to rent Gross, in addition to his longtime investing accomplice, former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. At one level, Zuckerberg reportedly tried to amass all of Secure Superintelligence, a startup most lately valued at $32 billion. Sutskever addressed these experiences as nicely.
“You may need heard rumors of firms trying to purchase us. We’re flattered by their consideration however are targeted on seeing our work by way of,” stated Sutskever. “Now we have the compute, we have now the staff, and we all know what to do. Collectively we’ll maintain constructing protected superintelligence.”
That’s fairly a assured assertion from Sutskever, however he might must challenge as a lot to guarantee traders and expertise that his startup remains to be on monitor. Naturally, Gross’ departure might elevate questions across the startup. If Secure Superintelligence was near their aim — certainly a groundbreaking expertise, because it’s described — why would its co-founder depart to start out one thing new, seemingly at Meta?
Notably, Secure Superintelligence describes themselves because the world’s “first straight-shot SSI lab,” that means the corporate has no different merchandise or ambitions outdoors of creating, nicely, protected superintelligence. That’s the title, that’s the product, that’s their entire factor. Sutskever began Secure Superintelligence shortly after leaving OpenAI, the place he performed a task within the temporary ousting of CEO Sam Altman.
In the meantime, it appears possible that Meta Superintelligence Labs will develop expertise that powers a lot of the corporate’s merchandise. In Zuckerberg’s memo saying the brand new unit, he referenced Meta’s experience in constructing and rising merchandise that attain billions of individuals, and cited the early wins Meta has had in AI wearables.
Meaning Gross might who earlier led AI groups at Apple after the iPhone maker acquired his startup, might have a extra acquainted function at Meta, ought to he be part of. Zuckerberg has additionally nabbed some prime researchers from OpenAI and Google DeepMind to fill out his new AI staff.
However, Sutskever might have his fingers full as Secure Superintelligence’s CEO. Whereas he’s held earlier high-ranking positions, reminiscent of OpenAI’s chief scientist, the CEO function might include new challenges — reminiscent of elevating new capital from traders and recruiting prime expertise. Sutskever notes in his put up that he’ll proceed to supervise Secure Superintelligence’s technical staff.