- OpenAI Chief Scientist and co-founder Ilya Sutskever is leaving the artificial intelligence company, a departure that ends months of speculation in Silicon Valley about the future of a top AI researcher who played a key role in the brief ouster of Sam Altman last year. Sutskever will be replaced by Research Director Jakub Pachocki, OpenAI said on its blog Tuesday.
- In a post on X, Sutskever called the trajectory of OpenAI “miraculous” and said that he was confident the company will build AI that is “both safe and beneficial” under its current leadership. The exit removes an executive and renowned researcher who has played a pivotal role in the company since its earliest days, helping guide discussions over the safety of AI technology and at times differing with Altman over strategy.
Why it matters
When OpenAI was founded in 2015, he served as its research director after being recruited to join the company by Elon Musk. At that point, Sutskever was already well known in the field for his work on neural networks at the University of Toronto and his work at the Google Brain lab. Sutskever even officiated the wedding of President Greg Brockman at the OpenAI offices.
