Instacart CEO Fidji Simo to join openAI as Chief of applications
Fidji Simo, the Chief Executive Officer of Instacart, is set to leave the grocery delivery giant to take on a new role as Head of Applications at OpenAI, the Microsoft-backed artificial intelligence company known for creating chatGPT. The announcement was made on thursday by Sam Altman, OpenAI’s CEO and co-founder, who confirmed that Simo would report directly to him.
The high-profile move comes just days after OpenAI scaled back a controversial restructuring plan. The non-profit parent body of OpenAI has retained control, limiting the extent of Altman’s power—a shift likely intended to preserve internal checks and balances within the fast-evolving tech firm. Simo had previously joined OpenAI’s board of directors in march 2023, one of three new appointments made shortly after Altman was reinstated as CEO following his brief and dramatic ousting in late 2023.
Simo, 39, will begin her new position at OpenAI later this year, according to an internal message she shared with Instacart employees. While stepping down from her executive duties, she will remain as chair of Instacart’s board to assist with the leadership transition. The company has yet to name her successor, though Simo indicated in a LinkedIn post that the next CEO is expected to be chosen from the existing senior management team.
“Our board regularly conducts succession planning exercises, and we expect the new CEO will be announced soon and will be an existing member of our management team,” Simo wrote, assuring stability during the handover.
Her departure marks a significant leadership shift for Instacart, which has navigated a transformative period under her guidance. Simo took the helm in 2021, during the waning months of the pandemic, when the online grocery sector faced volatile demand after experiencing a boom during COVID-19 lockdowns. Despite these challenges, she successfully steered the company towards profitability.
In september 2023, under her leadership, Instacart made its long-anticipated public debut on the Nasdaq stock exchange, further establishing itself as a key player in the competitive online retail space.
Before joining Instacart, Simo had an illustrious decade-long career at meta platforms, formerly Facebook. She served in several key roles, most notably as Head of the Facebook app from 2019 to 2021. She remains active in the tech ecosystem, currently sitting on the board of Canadian e-commerce platform Shopify.
Her move to OpenAI comes as the artificial intelligence sector continues to attract top-tier executive talent, particularly amid a surge in public and enterprise interest in generative AI applications. OpenAI, which shot to global prominence with the launch of chatGPT in 2022, is now focusing on expanding its commercial and user-facing product line. Simo’s appointment signals a strong push in that direction.
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As Head of Applications, Simo will be responsible for leading the development of consumer and business-facing AI tools, a crucial portfolio as OpenAI seeks to solidify its dominance not only in AI research but also in practical deployment across industries. Her track record of scaling consumer tech and steering product vision at companies like Facebook and Instacart is likely to play a pivotal role in shaping OpenAI’s next phase of growth.
Sam Altman, commenting on her appointment, noted that her experience in building widely-used digital platforms makes her ideally suited to guide OpenAI’s applications strategy. With Simo’s addition, the company continues to strengthen its executive bench, underscoring its commitment to marrying cutting-edge AI research with real-world utility.
As Simo prepares to transition into this new role, both Instacart and OpenAI enter pivotal chapters in their respective journeys—one navigating a post-IPO future in a stabilising market, and the other charting the next frontier of artificial intelligence.
