The relationship between Sam Altman and Ilya Sutskever, an OpenAI co-founder and the company’s former chief scientist, has long been tumultuous. Once considered close collaborators, the pair split in 2023 when Sutskever orchestrated Altman’s brief ouster as CEO. He later reversed course and called for Altman’s reinstatement, a move he described as a “Hail Mary” during testimony yesterday (May 11) in the ongoing trial of Elon Musk’s lawsuit against OpenAI.
“I felt that had I not done this, the company would be destroyed,” Sutskever said of his decision to backtrack on the coup.
Altman, who was ultimately restored as OpenAI’s CEO, now faces allegations from another co-founder, Musk. The trial in Oakland, Calif., stems from Musk’s lawsuit claiming the company abandoned its original nonprofit mission in favor of profit-driven incentives. Closing arguments are expected later this week. Musk is seeking the removal of Altman and OpenAI president Greg Brockman, along with the transfer of up to $180 billion in damages from OpenAI’s for-profit arm to its nonprofit parent.
Founded more than a decade ago by Altman, Musk and a group of researchers, OpenAI quickly identified Sutskever as a key early hire. At the time, he was working at Google but left the company—turning down a $6 million salary—to join the fledgling startup, he confirmed in testimony. Musk has since described Sutskever’s recruitment as “the linchpin” for OpenAI’s success.
Born in Russia and raised in Israel, Sutskever later moved to Canada, where he studied under renowned A.I. researcher Geoffrey Hinton at the University of Toronto. His work on AlexNet, a landmark neural network, helped him secure a role at Google in 2013. He stayed for two years before joining OpenAI as research director, eventually becoming chief scientist and a board member.
Early on, Sutskever was close with both Altman and Brockman—he reportedly even officiated Brockman’s 2019 wedding. But tensions grew over time. During his testimony, Sutskever said that in the year leading up to the 2023 ouster, he began compiling evidence of what he saw as Altman’s dishonesty. Such behavior was “not conducive to any grand goal,” including OpenAI’s mission to safely achieve artificial general intelligence, he said.
On Nov. 17, 2023, Sutskever and other board members removed Altman as CEO. The fallout was immediate: Brockman resigned, Microsoft, then OpenAI’s largest investor, moved to hire Altman, and hundreds of employees threatened to quit. Sutskever later acknowledged the process “seemed rushed” and signed a petition calling for Altman’s return days later. In separate testimony, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella described the episode as “amateur city” and said he was never given a clear explanation for Altman’s firing.
During the chaotic five-day stretch, Sutskever said he avoided the internet and was largely unaware of unfolding developments, including Microsoft’s plans to bring Altman on board. He also testified that OpenAI’s board held talks with rival A.I. firm Anthropic about a possible merger, though he said he was “not excited” by the idea.
After Altman’s reinstatement, Sutskever was removed from OpenAI’s board and left the company in May 2024. He went on to found Safe Superintelligence, a secretive A.I. startup focused on developing advanced systems safely, which was most recently valued at $32 billion in April last year.
Despite his departure, Sutskever retains a significant stake in OpenAI. His shares, valued at around $5 billion in November, are now worth roughly $7 billion, he said in testimony. Brockman, meanwhile, disclosed last week that his own stake is valued at about $30 billion.
OpenAI, now one of the world’s most valuable startups with an $852 billion valuation, is preparing for a highly anticipated IPO that could reportedly take place in the second half of 2026. While Sutskever is no longer officially associated with the company, his position as a major shareholder could still yield a substantial windfall.
