OpenAI Hires Instacart CEO Fidji Simo as Head of Applications

Instacart’s CEO and chair Fidji Simo is jumping ship to join Sam Altman’s inner circle at OpenAI, where she’ll be the AI firm’s head of applications, the company announced in its blog post. 

Simo, who’s expected to depart Instacart in the coming months, will report directly to Altman, who will continue to serve as OpenAI’s CEO. 

“Applications brings together a group of existing business and operational teams responsible for how our research reaches and benefits the world, and Fidji is uniquely qualified to lead this group,” Altman writes in the blog post. 

The move comes just a few days after OpenAI scrapped plans for a major governance overhaul, dialing back its plan to transition to a for-profit structure, which will likely put a ceiling on Altman’s power.

Meanwhile, OpenAI is reportedly building its own X-like social network, according to The Verge.

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Simo is not new to OpenAI. She joined the AI firm’s board last year as part of the trio of directors appointed after Altman’s dramatic reinstatement as CEO, (he was ousted in late 2023). 

Simo took the top job at Instacart in 2021 after a decade at Meta, where she played a key role in growing Facebook’s app.

“In her new role, Fidji will focus on enabling our ‘traditional’ company functions to scale as we enter a next phase of growth,” the blog reads.