Alphabet and Nvidia Invest in Ilya Sutskever’s SSI Valued at $32 Billion

Alphabet and Nvidia have backed Safe Superintelligence (SSI), the AI startup co-founded by former OpenAI chief scientist Ilya Sutskever. Valued at $32 billion as of mid-April 2025, SSI is quickly establishing itself as a leading AI research firm. Notably, Alphabet’s cloud division will supply SSI with its proprietary tensor processing units (TPUs), marking a significant strategic move as AI developers increasingly lean toward Google’s hardware over traditional GPUs.

This investment fits into a broader trend where industry giants are fueling AI innovation through both capital and critical infrastructure. In addition to SSI, companies like Amazon and Microsoft are similarly partnering with startups to advance next-generation AI technology. SSI’s preference for TPUs underscores a shift in the competitive landscape, as the market witnesses evolving alliances among cloud and chip providers, with developments reported since early 2025 and earlier commentaries highlighting Sutskever's ongoing commitment to AI safety and research excellence outside of conventional market pressures.