Ilya Sutskever, born on December 8, 1986, in Nizhny Novgorod, Russia, is a Canadian-Israeli computer scientist renowned for his pioneering work in artificial intelligence (AI). As the co-founder and CEO of Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI), Sutskever is at the forefront of efforts to develop AI systems that are both powerful and aligned with human values.
Early Life and Education
Sutskever’s journey into the world of AI began early. At the age of five, his family emigrated from the Soviet Union to Israel, and later to Canada. In Toronto, he developed a keen interest in mathematics, earning a Bachelor of Science in Mathematics from the University of Toronto in 2005. He continued his studies there, obtaining a Master of Science in Computer Science in 2007, and later a PhD in 2013 under the supervision of Geoffrey Hinton, a leading figure in AI research.
Contributions to AI
During his doctoral studies, Sutskever made significant contributions to the field of deep learning. In 2012, he co-developed AlexNet with Hinton and Alex Krizhevsky, a convolutional neural network that revolutionized computer vision by dramatically improving image classification accuracy. This achievement played a pivotal role in the resurgence of neural networks in AI research.
After completing his PhD, Sutskever worked as a postdoctoral researcher with Andrew Ng at Stanford University before joining Hinton’s DNNResearch. In 2013, Google acquired DNNResearch, and Sutskever became a part of Google Brain. There, he collaborated with Oriol Vinyals and Quoc Le to develop the sequence-to-sequence learning algorithm, which laid the groundwork for advancements in machine translation and natural language processing.
Co-founding OpenAI
In 2015, Sutskever co-founded OpenAI, a nonprofit AI research organization, alongside Elon Musk, Sam Altman, and others. As Chief Scientist, he played a crucial role in the development of large-scale language models, including the GPT series. His work emphasized the importance of AI safety and alignment, advocating for research to ensure that advanced AI systems would act in ways beneficial to humanity.
Departure from OpenAI and Founding SSI
In May 2024, Sutskever announced his departure from OpenAI, citing a desire to focus on a new project that was “very personally meaningful” to him. This decision came after a period of internal turmoil at OpenAI, including the controversial firing and subsequent reinstatement of CEO Sam Altman, in which Sutskever was involved.
Following his departure, Sutskever co-founded Safe Superintelligence Inc. (SSI) in June 2024, with the mission of developing the world’s first safe superintelligence. The company’s approach is singular: to focus exclusively on creating a superintelligent AI system that is both powerful and aligned with human values.
Leadership at SSI
In July 2025, Daniel Gross, the CEO of SSI, left the company to join Meta Platforms. Subsequently, Sutskever assumed the role of CEO, reaffirming his commitment to the company’s mission. Under his leadership, SSI has attracted significant investment, raising $3 billion by mid-2025 and achieving a valuation of $32 billion.
Recognition and Honors
Sutskever’s contributions to AI have been widely recognized. In 2015, he was named to MIT Technology Review’s “35 Innovators Under 35.” In 2022, he was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society, and in 2023 and 2024, he was included in TIME’s list of the 100 most influential people in AI.
Personal Life
Despite his professional achievements, Sutskever maintains a low public profile. He is known for his deep commitment to AI safety and alignment, often emphasizing the importance of ensuring that AI systems are developed responsibly.
The Road Ahead
Ilya Sutskever’s journey from a curious child in the Soviet Union to a leading figure in AI research is a testament to his dedication and vision. Through his work at SSI, he continues to push the boundaries of what is possible in AI, striving to create systems that are intelligent and safe and also beneficial for humanity. As the field of AI continues to evolve, Sutskever’s contributions will undoubtedly remain influential in shaping its future.
