Fidji Simo, the current CEO of Instacart, is joining OpenAI as the CEO of its newly consolidated Applications division. OpenAI announced the move on Thursday, noting that Simo will transition out of her current role at Instacart over the next few months and join the AI company full-time later in 2025.
Fidji Simo, who already serves on OpenAI’s board, will now report directly to OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who remains responsible for the company’s broader verticals such as research, compute, and applications.
What Simo will oversee at OpenAI
The new Applications group will unify multiple operational and product teams under one umbrella, focused on turning OpenAI’s research into real-world tools and products. Altman described Simo as “uniquely qualified” to lead this effort, citing her board experience and strong track record in scaling consumer platforms.
In addition to leading Applications, Fidji Simo will assist with scaling OpenAI’s traditional corporate functions, though no additional details were shared.
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From Meta to Instacart to OpenAI
Before joining Instacart in 2021, Simo spent more than a decade at Meta, where she spearheaded monetization strategies, launched ads in Facebook’s News Feed, led the Facebook Video product, and eventually rose to become Head of the Facebook App.
At Instacart, she led the company through its 2023 IPO and helped expand its grocery delivery business. In her message to Instacart staff, Fidji Simo said a current executive will take over as CEO, with an announcement expected soon. She will remain as chair of Instacart’s board.
“A critical moment”
“Joining OpenAI at this critical moment is an incredible privilege and responsibility,” Simo said in a statement. “This organization has the potential to accelerate human potential at a pace never seen before, and I am deeply committed to shaping these applications toward the public good.”
Her appointment marks yet another high-profile executive joining the AI space, as OpenAI continues to scale its product offerings and organizational infrastructure.
