Ilya Sutskever Stands by His Role in Sam Altman's OpenAI Ouster: 'I Didn't Want It to Be Destroyed'

"Sutskever drew the spotlight, revealing an ownership stake in OpenAI's $850-billion for-profit arm that is currently worth about $7 billion. That makes him one of the largest known individual shareholders of OpenAI. Earlier in the trial, OpenAI president Greg Brockman acknowledged for the first time that he has around $30 billion worth of OpenAI shares."

"Brockman said he and Sutskever were "joined at the hip," until Sutskever helped lead Sam Altman's brief removal as OpenAI CEO in 2023. Sutskever had helped collect evidence to show Altman's alleged history of deception, and even assisted in drafting a memo to the board. Though they tried to repair the relationship, Sutskever has been estranged from Brockman and Altman ever since, a lawyer for OpenAI said on Monday."

""I felt a great deal of ownership of OpenAI," he said at one point Monday. "I felt like I put my life into it, and I simply cared for it, and I didn't want it to be destroyed.""

"Sutskever's testimony bolstered Musk's contention that Altman is not the right person to lead an AI lab that could create artificial general intelligence. In addition, Sutskever mentioned how the superalignment team he helped lead, which focused on the safety of future models, was doing the most important work at OpenAI "for the long term." The team was disbanded in May 20"

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella, former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever, and current OpenAI chairman Bret Taylor testified as Elon Musk’s case neared its end. Sutskever disclosed an ownership stake in OpenAI’s $850-billion for-profit arm worth about $7 billion, making him one of the largest known individual shareholders. Earlier, OpenAI president Greg Brockman acknowledged holding around $30 billion in OpenAI shares. Brockman and Sutskever described close collaboration as cofounders, then a rupture after Sutskever helped lead Sam Altman’s brief removal in 2023, including collecting evidence and drafting a board memo. Sutskever said he felt deep ownership and concern about OpenAI’s future, and referenced superalignment work focused on long-term safety, later disbanded in May 2024.

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