Fidji Simo has stepped down from her full-time executive position at OpenAI following an extended medical leave.

The former Chief Executive Officer of Applications announced that her health challenges have made it difficult to continue in the role and that she will now serve as a part-time adviser to the company.

Simo joined OpenAI’s board in 2024 before taking on the newly created executive position in 2025.

During her tenure, she oversaw several key business functions, including product operations, finance and customer-related activities, allowing Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman to focus more heavily on research, computing infrastructure and AI safety.

Before joining OpenAI, Simo served as Chief Executive Officer of Instacart, leading the company through its public stock market listing.

She also spent more than a decade at Meta, where she held several senior leadership positions, including responsibility for the Facebook application.

Her departure comes at a time when OpenAI continues to expand its artificial intelligence offerings while competing with other leading AI companies.
The company recently introduced its GPT-5.6 family of models and unveiled new AI tools aimed at improving workplace productivity through automated document creation and other business tasks.

Industry observers believe Simo’s exit creates an important leadership vacancy as OpenAI continues its rapid growth and explores future strategic opportunities.

The company has not yet announced who will permanently assume her former responsibilities.

Source: TechCrunch