He got Peter Thiel to donate $1.1 million to the SIAI, which you should take as a sign of EY's potential and achievements.

That's a huge achievement. But don't forget that he wasn't able to convince him that the SIAI is the most important charity:

In February 2006, Thiel provided $100,000 of matching funds to back the Singularity Challenge donation drive of the Singularity Institute for Artificial Intelligence.

vs.

In September 2006, Thiel announced that he would donate $3.5 million to foster anti-aging research through the Methuselah Mouse Prize foundation.

...

In May 2007, Thiel provided half of the $400,000 matching funds for the annual Singularity Challenge donation drive.

vs.

On April 15, 2008, Thiel pledged $500,000 to the new Seasteading Institute, directed by Patri Friedman, whose mission is "to establish permanent, autonomous ocean communities to enable experimentation and innovation with diverse social, political, and legal systems".

I wouldn't exactly say that he was able to convince him of risks from AI.