OpenAI’s AGI head Fidji Simo to step down after a 3-month medical leave

Fidji Simo, CEO of AGI Deployment at OpenAI, announced that she will step down from her full-time role and transition into a part-time advisory position at the company. The announcement comes after a brief 3-month medical leave for a neuroimmune condition.

Simo shared an X post announcing the transition, in which she said, “Three months ago, I had to go on medical leave after a severe exacerbation of a chronic illness I’ve lived with for seven years. During that time, it became clear that the road to recovery would be much longer and more complex than I had anticipated—and that I needed to focus on it fully.” 

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During her role, Simo led OpenAI's product and commercial operations, playing a key role in scaling ChatGPT and the company's application portfolio. Later, her position was renamed to CEO of AGI Deployment earlier this year.

As Simo announces the change in her role, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said, “I am really sad about this and very grateful for all Fidji has done for OpenAI, and even ​grateful for her friendship and who she is as a person,” via an X post. 

Before joining OpenAI, Fidji Simo held two major leadership roles that included CEO of Instacart, the online grocery delivery company, and before that, she was at Meta, leading the Facebook app. In March 2024, she joined OpenAI as a board member.

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According to a Bloomberg report, Simo’s responsibilities will now be split between OpenAI’s President Greg Brockman, Chief Financial Officer Sarah Friar and Chief Strategy Officer Jason Kwon. 

Simo’s announcement came the same day as the launch of OpenAI’s new flagship model, the GPT 5.6 and ChatGPT Work. The company is also planning to go public in the coming months. Therefore, the departure could mark a significant leadership transition as OpenAI scales its consumer and enterprise businesses ahead of a potential IPO.