OpenAI recruits Instacart CEO Fidji Simo to steer operations

OpenAI is hiring the head of Instacart into a new role as chief executive officer of applications, reshaping leadership at the artificial-intelligence pioneer under CEO Sam Altman.

Fidji Simo, 39, will take on many of the operational duties held by Altman, including finance and product development. She will report to Altman, allowing him to focus on broader strategy, he announced on Wednesday.

OpenAI has gone through a tumultuous stretch as it seeks to develop a business model to support technological breakthroughs like ChatGPT. Altman also had to scale back plans to convert the startup to a for-profit entity after public pushback from former employees, academics and rivals, including Elon Musk. The company’s restructuring effort still has not received the blessing of Microsoft Corp., one of its largest stakeholders.

In recent months, Altman had shifted his focus to research and products while Chief Operating Officer Brad Lightcap took over more responsibilities for managing OpenAI’s day-to-day operations. The company has also significantly expanded its C-suite and executive ranks, allowing Altman to delegate more as OpenAI rapidly grows its business and global footprint.

Simo will oversee several executives who previously reported to Altman, including Lightcap, according to a person with knowledge of the matter. Her other reports will include Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar and Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil, said the person, who asked not to be identified discussing non-public management changes. The research, safety, and scaling organizations will continue to report to Altman, the person said.

“In this new configuration I’ll be able to increase my focus on research, compute and safety,” Altman said in a post on X. “These are critical as we approach superintelligence.”

Simo will depart her role as CEO of Maplebear Inc., the operator of Instacart, in the coming months, she said in a separate statement. She’s led the grocery delivery company for four years, following a decade at Meta Platforms Inc.

“In her new role, Fidji will focus on enabling our ‘traditional’ company functions to scale as we enter a next phase of growth,” Altman said in a statement posted to the OpenAI website. “We remain one OpenAI.”

Maplebear shares slid about 6% in premarket trading in the U.S. The company “expects that the company’s new CEO, who will be announced soon, will be one of its highly talented senior executives,” it said in an emailed statement.

Simo joined OpenAI’s board in early 2024 as part of a slate of new directors installed after the brief ousting and return of Altman in late 2023. Raised in France, she has spent years in leadership roles in the tech industry; before Instacart, she served as vice president and head of the Facebook app at Meta. She also co-founded a medical clinic and research foundation called the Metrodora Institute, which is aimed at curing neuroimmune disorders.

Simo is taking on the new executive role as OpenAI continues to race to commercialize its AI software and develop new cutting-edge models to stay ahead of emerging rivals in China. OpenAI is also part of a massive joint venture to build out more data center campuses in the US to support its AI technology, with plans to pursue more infrastructure investments abroad, too.

Earlier this year, OpenAI finalized a deal to raise $40 billion in a funding round led by SoftBank Group Corp. at a $300 billion valuation – and it may require still more capital eventually to continue funding the costly chips, data centers and talent needed for AI. SoftBank is also a key partner on OpenAI’s infrastructure plans.

While announcing OpenAI’s revised restructuring plan this week, Altman said the company wanted “something that works for investors, or at least works well enough for investors that they’re happy to continue to fund us to the degree we think we will need.” Now, Altman and OpenAI may also need to explain its revised org chart.