The relationship between Sam Altman and Ilya Sutskever, the founder of OpenAI and the company’s chief scientist, has long been tumultuous. Once considered close collaborators, the two parted ways in 2023 when Sutskever orchestrated Altman’s summary 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 Elon Musk’s ongoing lawsuit against OpenAI.
“I felt that if I didn’t do this, the company would be destroyed,” Sutskever said of his decision to back down from the coup.
Altman, who was eventually reinstated as CEO of OpenAI, is now facing allegations from another co-founder, Musk. The lawsuit in Oakland, Calif., stems from Musk’s lawsuit alleging 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, and 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 team of researchers, OpenAI quickly identified Sutskever as a key early adopter. At the time, he was working at Google but left the company—turning down a $6 million salary—to join a new startup, the affidavit confirmed. Musk has described Sutskever’s hiring as a “linchpin” to OpenAI’s success.
Born in Russia and raised in Israel, Sutskever later moved to Canada, where he studied under renowned AI 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 director of research, eventually becoming chief scientist and board member.
Initially, Sutskever was close to Altman and Brockman—he reportedly officiated at Brockman’s 2019 wedding. But tensions grew over time. During his testimony, Sutskever said that in the year leading up to the 2023 release, he began gathering evidence of what he saw as Altman’s dishonesty. Such behavior was “it is not aligned with any major goal,” including OpenAI’s mission to safely achieve general artificial 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 biggest investor, moved to hire Altman, and hundreds of employees threatened to quit. Sutskever later acknowledged the process “seeming to be in a hurry” and signed a petition for Altman’s return days later. In separate testimony, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella described the episode as “a novice city” and said he was never given a clear explanation for Altman’s firing.
During the five-day frenzy, Sutskever said he avoided the Internet and knew nothing of what was going on, including Microsoft’s plans to bring in Altman. He also testified that OpenAI’s board has held discussions with AI rival Anthropic about a possible merger, though he said “unhappy” with a vision.
After Altman’s reinstatement, Sutskever was removed from OpenAI’s board and left the company in May 2024. He went on to acquire Safe Superintelligence, the first private AI focused on developing advanced safety systems, the most recent of which was valued at $32 billion in April last year.
Despite his departure, Sutskever has played a major role in OpenAI. His shares, valued at $5 billion in November, are now worth about $7 billion, he said in testimony. Brockman, meanwhile, revealed last week that his stake is worth about $30 billion.
OpenAI, now one of the most valuable startups in the world with an estimated value of $852 billion, is preparing for a much-anticipated IPO that may reportedly take place in the second half of 2026. Although Sutskever is no longer officially associated with the company, his position as the largest shareholder can still bring a big storm.
