Instacart CEO Fidji Simo Set to Lead Applications at OpenAI
San Francisco, CA — In a major executive shift, Fidji Simo, current CEO of Instacart, will be transitioning to a new role at OpenAI as the company’s CEO of Applications, the ChatGPT developer announced Thursday.
Simo, who has served as a board member at OpenAI for the past year, will formally join the company later in 2025, stepping down from her CEO role at Instacart in the coming months. She will continue to serve as chair of the Instacart board.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman confirmed the appointment in a blog post, noting that Simo will lead a newly consolidated team responsible for how OpenAI’s research translates into real-world tools and experiences. Simo will report directly to Altman, who will maintain oversight of research, compute, and applications across the company.
A Strong Background in Product and Monetization
Simo brings over a decade of product leadership experience from Meta, where she led initiatives like Facebook Video, News Feed monetization, and app development. She left Meta as head of the Facebook app and later joined Instacart, steering the company through its 2023 IPO.
In her new position, Simo will also help scale traditional company operations at OpenAI, although specific details have not yet been shared.
“A Critical Moment for AI”
In a statement posted on X, Simo called the move to OpenAI “an incredible privilege and responsibility,” adding that she is committed to shaping AI applications that benefit the public.
“This organization has the potential of accelerating human potential at a pace never seen before,” she said.
An internal letter from Simo to Instacart staff confirmed that a successor from the company’s current leadership will be named soon.https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_jyeAKxoCac
