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 ousting of Sam Altman last year.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.
Last year, Sutskever was one of several OpenAI board members who moved to fire chief executive Altman, a decision that touched off a whirlwind five days at the company: Brockman quit in protest. Investors revolted. And within days, nearly all of OpenAI’s roughly 770 employees signed a letter threatening to quit unless Altman was reinstated.
After Altman returned to the company in late November, he said in a blog post that Sutskever wouldn’t go back to his former post as a board member, but that the company was “discussing how he can continue his work at OpenAI.” Asked about Sutskever at a press conference in March, Altman said he loved him, and that he believed Sutskever loved OpenAI, adding: “I hope we work together for the rest of our careers.”