OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever founding new AI company with offices in Tel Aviv

A month after he left OpenAI amid disagreements regarding the safety of the company's products, Dr. Ilya Sutskever announced a new venture called Safe Superintelligence (SSI). “Building safe superintelligence (SSI) is the most important technical problem of our​​ time,” read the new company's announcement also signed by fellow co-founders Daniel Gross and Daniel Levy. “We have started the world’s first straight-shot SSI lab, with one goal and one product: a safe superintelligence. It’s called Safe Superintelligence. SSI is our mission, our name, and our entire product roadmap, because it is our sole focus. Our team, investors, and business model are all aligned to achieve SSI.”

They also announced that one of their two offices will be in Tel Aviv.

Ilya Sutskever.

Sutskever, one of the founders of OpenAI and the company's chief scientist, announced his retirement in May, only half a year after leading the failed move to oust CEO Sam Altman. A few hours later, another executive at the company, Jan Leike, announced his resignation. Two days later, OpenAI announced the dissolution of the team that dealt with AI risks, which was established and led by Sutskever and Leike.

Now, Sutskever is unveiling his new venture, an artificial intelligence company called Safe Superintelligence, which will focus on developing safe AI technologies. “We approach safety and capabilities in tandem, as technical problems to be solved through revolutionary engineering and scientific breakthroughs. We plan to advance capabilities as fast as possible while making sure our safety always remains ahead,” the announcement read. “This way, we can scale in peace. “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.”

According to SSI, the company is established with two centers of activity: one in Palo Alto and the other in Tel Aviv. “We are an American company with offices in Palo Alto and Tel Aviv, where we have deep roots and the ability to recruit top technical talent,” they explained.

The company added that it is recruiting for its offices in Silicon Valley and Tel Aviv. “We are assembling a lean, cracked team of the world’s best engineers and researchers dedicated to focusing on SSI and nothing else. If that’s you, we offer an opportunity to do your life’s work and help solve the most important technical challenge of our age,” they said.

The founders of SSI have deep ties to Israel. Sutskever (37) was born in the USSR before immigrating to Jerusalem at the age of 5. He began his academic studies at the Open University but completed all his degrees at the University of Toronto, where he earned a doctorate in machine learning under the guidance of Prof. Geoffrey Hinton, one of the early pioneers in the field of artificial intelligence (AI).

The other two founders of SSI are Daniel Levy and Daniel Gross. Levy, a bachelor's degree graduate from École Polytechnique in France and a doctorate in computer science from Stanford in California, was until recently a senior developer at OpenAI. Before that, he worked as an intern at Microsoft, Meta, and Google. Gross (32), born in Jerusalem, previously led Apple's AI efforts, was a partner in startup accelerator Y Combinator, and invested in or was involved in companies such as Uber, GitHub, and Perplexity.ai. Last November, he was chosen by Time magazine for the list of the 100 most influential people in the field of artificial intelligence.