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TechOpenAI product chief Fidji Simo steps down due to chronic illness, will become advisor
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Fidji Simo, OpenAI's product and business chief, announced she is stepping down from her executive role to focus on recovery from a severe exacerbation of Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS), a chronic illness she was diagnosed with in 2019. Simo, who joined OpenAI in May 2025 after serving as CEO of Instacart, took medical leave in April 2026. She will transition to a part-time advisor role at the company. In a post on X, Simo reflected on her past reluctance to prioritize health, noting she declined a year-long medical leave offer from Facebook years earlier. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman expressed gratitude for her contributions. The announcement comes as OpenAI has confidentially filed for an IPO, though no timeline for a public debut has been set.
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Fidji Simo, OpenAI's product and business chief, announced Thursday she is stepping down from her role at the artificial intelligence company to focus on recovery after a "severe exacerbation of a chronic illness."
Simo was diagnosed with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) in 2019. In a post on X, she described spending "countless hours in doctors' offices, dealing with symptoms, treatments, insurance, uncertainty, and all the invisible work that comes with being a patient."
She initially took a medical leave from OpenAI in April. During her absence, OpenAI President Greg Brockman assumed responsibility for product oversight.
"When I went on leave, many people told me I was courageous for prioritizing my health," Simo wrote Thursday. "The truth is that I am only making this decision now because I failed to make it many times before."
Simo will transition into a part-time advisory role at OpenAI.
Background and Career
Simo joined OpenAI in May 2025 to lead the company's applications business. At the time, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman stated in a memo that Simo would "focus on enabling our 'traditional' company functions to scale as we enter a next phase of growth."
Prior to OpenAI, Simo served as CEO of Instacart, where she led the company through its public listing — breaking the longest tech IPO drought in three decades. She also spent more than a decade in leadership roles at Meta, serving as head of Facebook from 2019 to 2021.
Reflecting on her time at Meta, Simo wrote: "Two years after I got sick, Facebook offered me the opportunity to take a full year of medical leave. I didn't even pause to consider it. I immediately said no." She added that CEO Mark Zuckerberg "told me I should play the long game. I wish I had listened."
OpenAI's Recent Developments
Last month, OpenAI confidentially filed for an IPO, one week after rival Anthropic did the same. However, the company has not provided a timeline for a public market debut and is reportedly delaying those plans until at least next year.
Reactions
Altman expressed gratitude in a post on X, saying he is "grateful for Simo's contributions to the company, and even grateful for her friendship and who she is as a person."
Related Video: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman on whether the company will go public this year: 'I don't know'
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OpenAI Executive Fidji Simo Steps Down Due to Chronic Illness