Key takeaways:

• Alphabet and Nvidia invested in Safe Superintelligence (SSI), co-founded by Ilya Sutskever of OpenAI.
• SSI is now valued at around $32 billion following significant funding rounds.
• The investment underscores rising interest in startups creating advanced AI technologies requiring immense computing power.

Alphabet and Nvidia have teamed up with prominent venture capitalists to invest in Safe Superintelligence (SSI), a startup co-founded by Ilya Sutskever, the former chief scientist at OpenAI. This backing has propelled SSI into the ranks of the most valuable artificial intelligence startups just months after its inception, according to sources familiar with the deal.

This latest investment reflects a renewed focus by major tech companies and infrastructure providers on backing innovative startups that are pushing the boundaries of AI research. Just days before the investment announcement, Alphabet's cloud computing arm disclosed a significant arrangement to provide SSI with access to its tensor processing units (TPUs), which are specialized AI chips designed to enhance computational tasks.

Recent reports suggest that SSI was valued at approximately $32 billion following a funding round primarily led by Greenoaks. Sutskever's remarkable expertise and historical insights into AI's growth trajectory play a critical role in establishing SSI's prominence in this competitive landscape.

While details about the specific terms surrounding Alphabet's and Nvidia's investments remain undisclosed—spokespeople from all companies declined to comment—the significance of these developments reflects the evolving strategy of tech behemoths like Alphabet as they expand their AI hardware offerings. Darren Mowry, a managing director at Google overseeing partnerships with startups, noted that the company is adapting to increasing demands from foundational model developers, stating, "With these foundational model builders, the gravity is increasing dramatically over to us."

Despite the traditional preference of AI developers for Nvidia's graphics processing units, which command over 80% of the market, SSI is reportedly utilizing TPUs for its research and development efforts. Google continues to offer both Nvidia's GPUs and its TPUs through its cloud services, capitalizing on the efficiency of its chips for targeted AI applications.

Competition in the AI hardware space is intensifying, with Amazon also entering the fray by developing its own processors—Trainium and Inferentia. Amazon has consistently positioned itself to support firms like Anthropic in leveraging these processors, which add yet another dimension to the growing AI ecosystem.

This trend of major cloud providers engaging with AI startups not only highlights the increasing importance of foundational models but also showcases how these new firms become vital customers of existing infrastructure. Alongside Microsoft’s significant investments in OpenAI and Nvidia's support for other key players in the field, this collaborative environment fosters a robust pipeline for innovation.

For more details, read the full story on South China Morning Post.