Fidji Simo announced on July 9 she is stepping down from her full-time leadership role at OpenAI to focus on recovering from a severe flare-up of a chronic illness, transitioning to a part-time advisory position.
Simo, who led AGI deployment and applications at the artificial intelligence company, has been on medical leave since April after an exacerbation of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, a condition she was diagnosed with in 2019. Her product and business responsibilities will be divided among OpenAI President Greg Brockman, CFO Sarah Friar, and CSO Jason Kwon.
Simo joined OpenAI in mid-2025 after previously serving as CEO of Instacart, which she steered to profitability, and spending a decade at Meta. Her departure follows OpenAI's confidential IPO filing in June and comes on the same day the company unveiled a super-app featuring an AI agent for white-collar workers.