Fidji Simo, the CEO and chair of Instacart, has been appointed as the new CEO of Applications at OpenAI, as announced by Sam Altman on Thursday. In a post on X, Altman stated, “I’ll remain CEO of OpenAI, but in this new configuration I’ll be able to increase my focus on research, compute, and safety.”
Simo’s hiring was communicated to OpenAI employees on Wednesday, and the announcement was shared in a blog post later that day. Altman mentioned that the Application team will consolidate various existing business and operational teams, emphasizing Simo’s unique qualifications to lead this group. He noted that Simo has already made significant contributions to the company since joining OpenAI’s board in March 2024. She will transition into her new role at OpenAI later this year, while continuing to serve as CEO of Instacart for the next few months.
Simo expressed her gratitude for the opportunity and commitment to Instacart in a post on X, stating, “I’m so grateful to my Instacart team for the amazing ride we had together, and I look forward to supporting the next CEO during the transition.”
Simo began her career at eBay before moving to Meta, where she oversaw Facebook’s app and advertising products. She joined Instacart as a board member in January 2021 and took over as CEO in August 2021.