Instacart CEO Fidji Simo is stepping down and will join OpenAI full-time later this year as Application CEO, the artificial intelligence company announced Thursday. Simo, who is already an OpenAI board member, will transition away from her duties at Instacart over the next few months before assuming leadership of OpenAI’s applications division.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed he will retain his current role, overseeing high-level functions such as research, computing, and application strategy. In a blog post addressing the shift, Altman praised Simo’s extensive operational and product expertise, emphasizing her unique qualifications to lead the team responsible for bringing OpenAI’s research innovations to global users.
Altman further noted that Simo’s involvement would help scale company functions critical to OpenAI’s growth, although he provided no additional details on specific roles or tasks she would undertake beyond heading the applications vertical.
Simo boasts an illustrious background in product management and monetization. Before her tenure at Instacart—which began in 2021 and culminated in the company’s public listing in 2023—Simo spent over a decade at Meta. During her time at the social media giant, she was instrumental in implementing ads in Facebook’s News Feed, led monetization efforts for the Facebook app, orchestrated the product rollout for Facebook Video, and significantly contributed to the scale and success of the platform’s advertising business. She eventually exited Meta as the head of the Facebook app and quickly made her mark at Instacart.
In announcing her new role, Simo highlighted her ongoing commitment to the Instacart community, clarifying that she would remain as chair of its board. In a letter to Instacart employees, she also revealed that a current member of the management team would succeed her as CEO, with an official announcement forthcoming.
Reflecting on her move to OpenAI, Simo described joining the AI pioneer as both “an incredible privilege and responsibility,” underscoring her dedication to harnessing AI developments for the broader public good at a pivotal moment in the technology’s evolution.
