OpenAI Appoints Fidji Simo as Head of Applications, Strengthening Growth Strategy
In an exciting development, late Wednesday night, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the appointment of Fidji Simo, the CEO of Instacart, as the head of its applications division. “Applications bring together our existing business and operational teams to optimize how our research impacts and benefits the world,” Altman shared in a blog post. Simo, who joined OpenAI’s board last year, is taking on this pivotal role.
OpenAI confirmed Simo’s new position, where she will report directly to Altman and bear the title of CEO of Applications. Altman highlighted her mission in a memo to employees, published on OpenAI’s blog, emphasizing her role in scaling the company’s traditional functions as it embarks on its next growth phase. This announcement follows OpenAI’s declaration, two days earlier, to retain its nonprofit oversight despite transitioning into a public benefit corporation, addressing concerns from civic leaders and former employees.
Founded in 2015 as a research hub, OpenAI is currently embroiled in a legal tussle with co-founder Elon Musk. Musk, now managing xAI, stands against OpenAI’s potential for-profit conversion amid the burgeoning generative AI sector. Simo, recognized among CNBC’s Changemakers in 2024, successfully led Instacart through the tech IPO market to shatter a three-decade-long stagnation. During the COVID pandemic, Instacart surged as it facilitated grocery delivery to homes.
Reflecting on Instacart’s growth, Simo remarked to CNBC, “There was skepticism that Instacart might be a fleeting pandemic trend. We’ve demonstrated sustainable and profitable growth beyond the COVID era, which is crucial.” Prior to Instacart, Simo excelled at Facebook, later Meta, serving as head of Facebook from 2019 to 2021. Hailing from France, she was among the top-ranking female leaders at the company, alongside high-profile executives.
Simo, 39, mentioned on X that she would continue as Instacart’s CEO for a few months before transitioning to the role of chair. “I am deeply thankful to my Instacart team for the incredible journey. I’m eager to support the next CEO during this transition,” she expressed. On Monday, Instacart launched Fizz, a new app catering to drink and snack deliveries for customers aged 21 and above.
Instacart is set to announce Simo’s successor soon, aiming to select one from its high-caliber senior executives. Altman, in his memo, confirmed his shifted focus towards research, compute, and safety systems. Earlier this year, OpenAI stated that Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap would broaden his responsibilities to manage the company’s everyday business, while Altman would concentrate on research and innovative products. Lightcap now guides “global deployment,” including overseeing strategy, partnerships, and infrastructure. OpenAI, a longtime beneficiary of Microsoft’s support, recently hit a valuation of $300 billion in a funding round spearheaded by SoftBank.