Pre-Product AI 'Company' Now Valued at $30 Billion - Slashdot
Feb 24, 2025 - tech.slashdot.org
Venture capitalists are increasingly willing to invest in pre-revenue companies, as demonstrated by OpenAI co-founder Ilya Sutskever's start-up, Safe Superintelligence (SSI). SSI is reportedly raising over $1 billion at a valuation exceeding $30 billion, despite not yet generating revenue or planning to sell AI products in the near future. Greenoaks Capital Partners is leading the investment with a $500 million contribution. This marks a significant increase from the company's previous valuation of $5 billion, highlighting the high expectations for SSI's focus on developing safe AI systems.
SSI's strategy is to concentrate solely on creating a safe superintelligence, avoiding the pressures of competing in the market with a complex product. Sutskever emphasizes that the company will remain insulated from external pressures until its first product is ready. The ongoing financing talks suggest that the details could still change, but the current valuation places SSI among the world's most valuable private technology companies.
Key takeaways:
Venture capitalists are investing heavily in pre-revenue companies, with Safe Superintelligence raising over $1 billion at a valuation of over $30 billion.
Greenoaks Capital Partners is leading the investment in Safe Superintelligence with a $500 million contribution.
The valuation of Safe Superintelligence has jumped from $5 billion to $30 billion in less than half a year.
Safe Superintelligence focuses on developing safe AI systems and does not plan to generate revenue or sell AI products in the near future.
