Ilya Sutskever, one of the co-founders and the chief scientist of OpenAI, is stepping down from his position after 10 years at the start-up, which has been at the centre of most groundbreaking AI innovations since its inception.
His departure comes in the close wake of company's launch of its latest AI model, GPT-4o.
Even before he started OpenAI, Sutskever was a prominent name in the field of AI research. He worked at Google Brain and also did research at Stanford after getting his doctorate. His career began with Geoffrey Hinton, popularly known as the Godfather of AI.
"After almost a decade, I have made the decision to leave OpenAI. The company’s trajectory has been nothing short of miraculous, and I’m confident that OpenAI will build AGI that is both safe and beneficial," Sutskever said in a post on X.
He added, "I am excited for what comes next — a project that is very personally meaningful to me about which I will share details in due time."
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote in a statement said, "Ilya and OpenAI are going to part ways. This is very sad to me; Ilya is easily one of the greatest minds of our generation, a guiding light of our field, and a dear friend. His brilliance and vision are well known; his warmth and compassion are less well known but no less important."
The company announced that Jakub Pachocki will assume the role of chief scientist.
It wrote, "Jakub is going to be our new Chief Scientist. Jakub is also easily one of the greatest minds of our generation; I am thrilled he is taking the baton here. He has run many of our most important projects, and I am very confident he will lead us to make rapid and safe progress towards our mission of ensuring that AGI benefits everyone."
Last November, Sutskever, who was on OpenAI's board, played a big part in the surprising firing and then rehiring of CEO Sam Altman. He helped make the decision to let Altman go. But just days later, he changed his mind. He joined other employees in asking for Altman's return and said sorry for being involved in the decision to let him go.
When Altman returned, things changed for Sutskever. He was taken off the board, and what he'd be doing at the company wasn't clear anymore, reported Reuters.
"OpenAI would not be what it is without him," Altman wrote.
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