# Safe Superintelligence's Series A (2024) Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI) is an Israeli-American AI company founded by Ilya Sutskever, Daniel Gross, and Daniel Levy in June 2024, focused on safely developing superintelligence. It raised $1 billion in September 2024 at a $5 billion valuation, later reaching $30 billion in March 2025. Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI) is an Israeli-American artificial intelligence company founded in June 2024 with the stated mission of safely developing superintelligence - a computer-based agent capable of surpassing human intelligence. The company was established by Ilya Sutskever, former chief scientist of OpenAI; Daniel Gross, former head of Apple's AI efforts; and Daniel Levy, an investor and former AI researcher at OpenAI. SSI operates with a small team split between Palo Alto, California and Tel Aviv, Israel, and positions itself as the "world's first straight-shot SSI lab," aiming to remain insulated from short-term commercial pressures and management overhead. The company's September 2024 Series A funding round raised $1 billion at a $5 billion valuation, making it one of the largest early-stage raises in the artificial intelligence sector. The round attracted prominent venture capital firms including SV Angel, DST Global, Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz. By March 2025, SSI's valuation had increased sixfold to $30 billion following a funding round led by Greenoaks Capital, despite the company having approximately 20 employees and not yet generating revenue. ## Founding and Background SSI's origins trace to internal tensions at [OpenAI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/openai), where Sutskever served as chief scientist and co-founder. In November 2023, Sutskever participated in a board vote to remove OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, citing concerns about communication and trust. The board dispute was resolved with Altman's reinstatement, but Sutskever and others believed OpenAI was neglecting its original safety focus in favor of commercialization opportunities. On May 15, 2024, Sutskever left OpenAI. On June 19, 2024, he announced the formation of SSI Inc. via a post on X, alongside Levy and Gross. The company's founding team brought complementary expertise: Sutskever's deep learning research background, Gross's experience scaling AI infrastructure at Apple, and Levy's investment and research perspective from OpenAI. ## Series A Funding Round In September 2024, SSI revealed it had raised $1 billion from venture capital firms including SV Angel, DST Global, Sequoia Capital, and Andreessen Horowitz. The round valued the company at $5 billion. The funds were earmarked for expanding computing power and hiring top talent in the field. The raise was notable for its size relative to the company's early stage. SSI had no product, no revenue, and a small team, yet investors committed substantial capital based largely on Sutskever's reputation and the company's singular focus on safe superintelligence development. The funding enabled SSI to begin building out its research infrastructure and recruiting efforts. ## Valuation Growth and March 2025 Round In March 2025, SSI reached a $30 billion valuation in a funding round led by Greenoaks Capital. This represented a sixfold increase from the September 2024 valuation of $5 billion. The round occurred despite SSI still having no revenue and approximately 20 employees. Investor interest was driven by several factors: Sutskever's track record as a key figure in the development of [large language models](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/large-language-model), the growing strategic importance of [artificial intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-intelligence) safety, and the scarcity of teams focused exclusively on superintelligence research. The valuation placed SSI among the most valuable private AI companies relative to its headcount. ## Strategic Partnerships In April 2025, [Google Cloud](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/google-cloud) announced a partnership to provide tensor processing units (TPUs) for SSI's research. This collaboration gave SSI access to specialized hardware for training and running large-scale AI models, complementing its own compute investments. On July 27, 2026, SSI and [Nvidia](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/nvidia) announced a strategic partnership aimed at expanding SSI's compute capacity by "an order of magnitude." The deal included a planned $5 billion investment from Nvidia into SSI. This partnership was designed to substantially increase the computational resources available for SSI's safety research and superintelligence development efforts. ## Leadership Changes In the first half of 2025, [Meta](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/meta) attempted to acquire SSI but was rebuffed by Sutskever. In July 2025, co-founder Daniel Gross left the company to join Meta Superintelligence Labs, a new division focused on advanced AI research. Following Gross's departure, Sutskever became the sole CEO of SSI, consolidating leadership under the remaining co-founders. The leadership transition reflected broader industry dynamics, as major technology companies competed for top AI talent and sought to establish dedicated superintelligence research units. Gross's move to Meta highlighted the intense competition for expertise in the field. ## Research Approach and Philosophy SSI's approach differs from many AI companies in its explicit prioritization of safety over speed to market. The company's website states it is intended to be unaffected by "management overhead or product cycles" and "insulated from short-term commercial pressures." This philosophy allows researchers to focus on fundamental questions about how to ensure superintelligent systems remain aligned with human values. The company's small team structure is deliberate, favoring deep collaboration over large-scale operations. SSI has not publicly disclosed specific technical details of its research, but its focus areas include [AI safety](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/ai-safety), [artificial general intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-general-intelligence), and the mitigation of [existential risk from AI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/existential-risk-from-ai). ## Industry Context SSI emerged during a period of rapid advancement in [generative AI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/generative-ai) and intensifying competition among AI labs. Major players including OpenAI, [Anthropic](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/anthropic), and [Google DeepMind](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/google-deepmind) have pursued increasingly capable models, while debates about safety and alignment have gained prominence. Sutskever's departure from OpenAI and subsequent founding of SSI signaled a split within the AI research community over how to balance capability development with safety considerations. SSI's high valuation despite minimal revenue demonstrated investor confidence in the long-term importance of safe superintelligence research. The company's partnerships with major cloud and hardware providers, including Google Cloud and Nvidia, positioned it to access cutting-edge computational resources. These relationships were crucial for a research-focused organization without the revenue streams of larger tech companies. ## See Also - [AI safety](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/ai-safety) - [Artificial general intelligence](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/artificial-general-intelligence) - [Existential risk from AI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/existential-risk-from-ai) - [OpenAI](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/openai) - [Superintelligence: Paths, Dangers, Strategies](https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/superintelligence) --- Source: https://www.wikiprompt.org/wiki/safe-superintelligence-2024-series-a License: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Last updated: 2026-09-13T03:51:09.276985+00:00