Safe Superintelligence (SSI), founded in June 2024 by Ilya Sutskever, Daniel Gross, and Daniel Levy, operates from offices in Palo Alto, California, and Tel Aviv, Israel.

The startup is currently seeking to raise funds at a valuation of at least $20 billion, a significant increase from its previous valuation of $5 billion after raising $1 billion in September 2024.

This fundraising effort comes at a critical time for the Western AI industry, particularly in light of competition from Chinese startup DeepSeek, which has developed low-cost AI models.

DeepSeek's emergence has raised concerns among investors and significantly impacted Nvidia's market cap by nearly $600 billion in late January 2025.

SSI aims to 'scale in peace,' focusing on long-term development without succumbing to the short-term commercial pressures faced by other AI companies like OpenAI.

The company's mission is to develop 'safe superintelligence' that aligns with human interests, although it has not yet generated any revenue.

Sutskever's reputation in the AI field, particularly his contributions to generative AI and advocacy for scaling, has attracted significant investor interest despite the company's secretive operations.

Current discussions with potential investors are in early stages, and the specific amount SSI aims to raise remains undisclosed.

Despite market volatility and rising competition, major tech companies continue to invest heavily in AI infrastructure, with firms like OpenAI and Anthropic also pursuing substantial funding.

The founding team includes notable figures such as ex-OpenAI researcher Daniel Levy and former Apple AI projects lead Daniel Gross, enhancing the startup's credibility.

Sutskever left OpenAI in May 2024 to launch SSI, aiming to create AI models that exceed human intelligence while ensuring alignment with human interests.

While specific methodologies remain undisclosed, Sutskever has described SSI's research direction as 'a new mountain to climb,' indicating a focus on innovative approaches.