The fierce global competition for top artificial intelligence talent has intensified, as Meta Platforms has poached Daniel Gross, the CEO of AI startup Safe Superintelligence (SSI), prompting co-founder Ilya Sutskever to step back into a leadership role.
Gross, a respected entrepreneur and investor known for his work at Apple and Y Combinator, will now lead Meta’s AI products division, according to sources familiar with the matter. His departure from SSI comes amid a broader scramble by tech giants to secure leadership and expertise in artificial intelligence as they race to develop more powerful and safe AI systems.
Sutskever, one of the most influential figures in AI and a co-founder of OpenAI, will now lead SSI full-time. He originally launched the startup in 2023 after exiting OpenAI, following his controversial involvement in the brief ousting of CEO Sam Altman in November that year. At OpenAI, Sutskever served as chief scientist and was known for his deep contributions to the development of large language models like GPT.
Safe Superintelligence was founded with a bold vision: to develop advanced AI systems with safety and alignment at their core. The company aimed to differentiate itself from other AI labs by maintaining a strict focus on building intelligence that prioritizes human values and long-term safety.
Sutskever’s return to day-to-day leadership at SSI comes at a pivotal moment. As AI technology rapidly evolves, safety concerns are increasingly at the forefront of industry discussions. His scientific credibility and experience in the field are expected to help SSI maintain its mission while navigating the competitive pressures from companies like Meta, OpenAI, Google DeepMind, and Anthropic.
Meta’s hiring of Gross underscores the aggressive steps major tech firms are taking to lead in AI innovation. With this move, Meta strengthens its capabilities in AI product development as it seeks to catch up with rivals in the generative AI space.
The talent war in AI is far from over and with Sutskever now fully steering the ship, all eyes will be on how SSI carves out its niche in an increasingly crowded and high-stakes field.
