OpenAI has appointed Fidji Simo as CEO of its Applications Division, a newly created role aimed at supporting the company’s growth across products and operations. Simo, who has served as a Member of OpenAI’s Board over the past year, will step down from her position at Instacart and join OpenAI later this year. She will report directly to Sam Altman, who remains CEO of OpenAI and will continue overseeing the company’s core areas: Research, Compute, and Applications. This leadership expansion reflects OpenAI’s transition from a research-focused organization to one that also builds products at scale and operates critical AI infrastructure.
Simo will lead a set of teams focused on delivering OpenAI’s research to users through practical tools and services. Her role will include helping the company scale its internal operations and product efforts as it enters a new phase of rapid growth. Altman noted that he will remain involved in major decisions and will increase his focus on long-term research and safety. Simo expressed, “Joining OpenAI at this critical moment is an incredible privilege and responsibility. This organization has the potential of accelerating human potential at a pace never seen before and I am deeply committed to shaping these applications toward the public good.” The leadership addition marks a key step in OpenAI’s broader mission to build safe and impactful artificial intelligence systems.
