Top OpenAI executive Fidji Simo is stepping down

• Fidji Simo is stepping down from her executive role at OpenAI after her medical leave.
• The former Instacart CEO will transition to a part-time advisor role.
• Simo’s chronic illness pushed her to take medical leave three months ago.

Simo, the company’s CEO of applications, wrote on X on Thursday that she has decided to leave her full-time role and transition to becoming a part-time advisor.

She went on medical leave three months ago. She said on Thursday that her long-running chronic illness, which does not have a cure, had grown worse.

“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,” she added.

She thanked OpenAI’s board, CEO Sam Altman, and President Greg Brockman for their support, and wrote in the post that her journey with her illness had reinforced her belief in the importance of technology.

Altman wrote on X, “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. we all wish her the best for a speedy recovery. this sucks.”

Simo was plain in her own post about the toll the illness has taken.

“It has been a jarring experience to spend my days helping build the future while simultaneously navigating a disabling disease that still has no cure,” she wrote.

The Wall Street Journal reported earlier on Simo’s departure.

Have a tip? Contact this reporter via email at scouncil@insider.com, or over text, Signal, Telegram, or WhatsApp at 415-757-8198. Use a personal email address, a nonwork WiFi network, and a nonwork device;here’s our guide to sharing information securely.