OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever says he’s moving into the CEO function at Protected Superintelligence, the AI startup he launched in 2024. In a submit on X, Sutskever confirmed Thursday that Daniel Gross, the startup’s co-founder and CEO, departed the corporate as of June 29. Protected Superintelligence co-founder Daniel Levy is turning into president of the startup, in line 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 companion, former GitHub CEO Nat Friedman. At one level, Zuckerberg reportedly tried to amass all of Protected Superintelligence, a startup most just lately valued at $32 billion. Sutskever addressed these experiences as properly.
“You may need heard rumors of firms trying to purchase us. We’re flattered by their consideration however are centered on seeing our work by,” stated Sutskever. “Now we have the compute, we’ve got the group, and we all know what to do. Collectively we are going to hold constructing protected superintelligence.”
Naturally, Gross’ departure might elevate questions across the startup. If Protected Superintelligence was near its 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, Protected Superintelligence describes themselves because the world’s “first straight-shot SSI lab,” that means the corporate has no different merchandise or ambitions outdoors of growing, properly, protected superintelligence. That’s the title, that’s the product, that’s their entire factor. Sutskever began Protected Superintelligence shortly after leaving OpenAI, the place he performed a job within the transient ousting of CEO Sam Altman.
In the meantime, it appears probably 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, who beforehand led AI groups at Apple after the iPhone maker acquired his startup, might have a extra acquainted function at Meta, ought to he be a part of. Zuckerberg has additionally nabbed some prime researchers from OpenAI and Google DeepMind to fill out his new AI group.
However, Sutskever might have his fingers full as Protected 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 buyers and recruiting prime expertise. Sutskever notes in his submit that he’ll proceed to supervise Protected Superintelligence’s technical group.
