OpenAI has hired Fidji Simo, the CEO of Instacart and former Facebook app chief, as the head of the company’s apps business. In a post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says introducing the new role will allow him to “focus on research, compute, and safety.”
Simo has served as an OpenAI board member since last year, but she won’t leave Instacart right away to join the AI giant. In a post on LinkedIn, Simo tells Instacart staff that she’s “not going anywhere for a couple of months,” adding that she’ll remain CEO until the company announces a successor.
Apps have become a major part of OpenAI’s business as ChatGPT has launched across iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. OpenAI is also building an X-like social network, as The Verge reported in April.
