In a twist that adds to OpenAI’s unique structure as a nonprofit overseeing a for-profit public benefit corporation, the organization now has two CEOs. Sam Altman continues his role as the chief executive of the entire company, responsible for research and computing. This summer, Fidji Simo, the former CEO of Instacart, joined as the CEO of Applications, managing all other functions.
Since taking on her role in August, Simo hasn’t spent much time at OpenAI’s San Francisco office, but her influence is evident throughout the company. She is leading initiatives like ChatGPT and any other projects that could drive revenue for OpenAI. Dealing with a relapse of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), Simo is working remotely from her home in Los Angeles, relying heavily on Slack for communication. “Being present from 8 am to midnight every day, responding within five minutes, people feel like I’m there and that they can reach me immediately, that I jump on the phone within five minutes,” she shares. Employees confirm this dedication. OpenAI is known for its active Slack culture, which can be overwhelming for newcomers, but Simo seems to thrive in it. Staff members report she frequently engages in various channels and threads, chiming in with insights and posing questions.
Simo joins OpenAI during a tumultuous expansion phase, with new partnerships, model releases, retail collaborations, billion-dollar compute agreements, a proprietary chip, and a still-under-wraps hardware product. “We do not battle for scope,” she emphasizes. “We battle for less scope.”
Her appointment surprised some outside Silicon Valley, though those familiar with her background found it fitting. Originally from Sète, a small fishing town in southern France, Simo gained recognition managing the Facebook app at Meta before becoming Instacart’s CEO in 2021, leading the company to an IPO just two years later. In the tech community, she’s celebrated as a product visionary known for scaling consumer apps globally.
At OpenAI, her mission primarily revolves around transforming the company’s research advancements into essential consumer products that drive revenue. She faces significant competition from major tech firms like Google and Meta, along with AI startups founded by OpenAI alumni such as Thinking Machines Lab, Anthropic, and Periodic Labs. “The thing that keeps me up at night is that the intelligence of our models is well ahead of how much people are using them,” Simo admits. “I see my job as closing this gap.”
Since her arrival, Simo has overseen the launch of Pulse, a product that syncs with users’ calendars to provide personalized information based on their schedules, chat history, and feedback. She has also established a jobs platform for individuals to gain AI certification and seek related job opportunities, and she has focused on enhancing ChatGPT’s support for users experiencing mental health crises. Sources indicate that she will eventually play a key role in deciding how to implement advertisements in the free tier of ChatGPT.
