OpenAI's chief executive of AGI deployment, Fidji Simo, is stepping down from her full-time position at the artificial intelligence company. She will transition to a part-time advisory role. The change follows a months-long medical leave caused by a worsening neuroimmune condition.
"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," Simo wrote in a post on X. "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."
Simo's Background and Health Challenges
Simo joined OpenAI's board of directors in March 2024. The following year, CEO Sam Altman hired her to lead the product and business organizations. This move allowed Altman to concentrate on research and the company's data center expansion. Before joining OpenAI, Simo served as the CEO of Instacart and headed the Facebook app at Meta.
Shortly before starting at OpenAI, Simo experienced a significant relapse of her health condition. She was diagnosed with postural tachycardia syndrome, or POTS, in 2019. In a memo to OpenAI staff in April, she announced her temporary departure, explaining, "For my entire time here, I've postponed medical tests and new therapies to stay completely focused on the job and not miss a single day of work. It's now clear that I've pushed a little too far and I really need to try new interventions to stabilize my health."
Executive Shakeup and Product Reorganization
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News of Simo's medical leave came alongside a larger executive shakeup. Brad Lightcap, OpenAI's former chief operating officer, moved into a role overseeing special projects. Greg Brockman, the company's president and co-founder, took over OpenAI's product strategy. In the months since Simo stepped back, OpenAI further reorganized its product teams. Thibault Sottiaux became head of the company's core products, including ChatGPT.
OpenAI is now focusing on a handful of core products as it prepares for a planned initial public offering expected in 2027. The company is reportedly targeting a valuation of $1 trillion. As part of this focus strategy, OpenAI merged teams working on ChatGPT, the company's AI-powered browser, and its AI coding agent to build a "superapp." The company has also shut down more experimental projects like Sora.
Major ChatGPT Update
Earlier on Thursday, OpenAI unveiled what it described as the biggest product update to ChatGPT since the chatbot's initial release. The company launched an AI agent inside ChatGPT that can take actions on behalf of users, such as moving local files and writing code. OpenAI also redesigned the look of its desktop application. With this update, the company aims to give ChatGPT users some features previously limited to Codex, including the ability to create bespoke software projects using AI.
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