Who Is Fidji Simo? The OpenAI Executive Stepping Down From Full-Time Role. Know why

Fidji Simo, the OpenAI executive who joined the company after leading Instacart, is stepping down from her full-time role to focus on recovering from a chronic illness.

Simo announced on July 9 that she will transition to a part-time advisory role after taking medical leave three months ago. She said her recovery would take longer than she had expected.

The move marks another leadership change at OpenAI as the company continues to expand its consumer and enterprise artificial intelligence products. Her responsibilities will be divided among OpenAI President Greg Brockman, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar and Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon, according to Reuters.

From Meta To OpenAI

Simo is a French-American technology executive who joined OpenAI’s board of directors in March 2024. Before that, she served as chief executive officer of Instacart from 2021 and led the grocery delivery company through its 2023 initial public offering. Earlier, she spent more than a decade at Meta, including Facebook.

About a year after joining OpenAI’s board, Simo left Instacart to take up a full-time role at OpenAI as chief executive of applications and later worked on the deployment of artificial general intelligence.

Why Is Fidji Simo Leaving OpenAI?

Simo said she decided to leave her full-time role after a prolonged flare-up of a chronic illness.

“Today, I shared with the OpenAI team that I have decided to leave my full-time role at OpenAI and transition to being a part-time advisor.”

She added: “Three months ago, I had to go on medical leave after a severe exacerbation of a chronic illness I’ve lived with for seven years. During that time, it became clear that the road to recovery would be much longer and more complex than I had anticipated-and that I needed to focus on it fully.”

CNBC reported that Simo has been living with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) since being diagnosed in 2019. She said she has spent “countless hours” at doctors’ offices while managing symptoms, treatment, insurance and the challenges of living with a chronic illness.

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What Is POTS?

POTS is a rare condition with no known cure in which the heart shrinks and can no longer maintain normal blood pressure. People with the condition may experience light-headedness, fainting and rapid increases in heart rate.

OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman thanked Simo for her contributions and supported her decision to prioritise her health and recovery.

CNBC also reported that OpenAI confidentially filed for an initial public offering last month, a week after rival Anthropic did the same. However, the company has not provided a timeline for a stock market listing and is reportedly delaying those plans until at least next year.

Simo’s departure is one of several recent leadership changes at OpenAI and reshapes the company’s senior management.

ALSO READ: OpenAI Introduces GPT-Live: All You Need To Know About Its New Voice AI

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