ChatGPT maker OpenAI has appointed Fidji Simo as the chief executive officer of applications in a major leadership addition to the AI company. She will join OpenAI later this year and report to the Sam Altman, who remains the overall CEO of the AI platform.

Fidji is anticipated to enhance application-oriented projects at OpenAI, such as ChatGPT and various consumer-oriented AI applications.

In the meantime, Altman stated he will concentrate on research, computing, and safety with the new setup as the AI platform nears superintelligence.

"Joining OpenAI at this critical moment is an incredible privilege and responsibility. This organization has the potential of accelerating human potential at a pace never seen before and I am deeply committed to shaping these applications toward the public good," aads Fidji.

Simo currently works as the CEO of grocery delivery service Instacart. She has been on the OpenAI board since March 2024. She is also part of the Shopify board since December 2021.

She has worked with Facebook, heading the app operations, gaming and monetisation, and product management during her over 10 years of tenure at social media major.

Simo’s appointment highlights OpenAI’s strategy to balance its research ambitions with the commercial scaling of its AI applications, positioning the company to thrive in both innovation and practical deployment.

Talking about her role in the company, Altman wrote, "Fidji is exceptional; we have worked together on OpenAI for the past year and I have observed her deep commitment to our mission. I cannot imagine a better new team member to help us scale the next 10x (or 100x, let's see) (sic)," he said.

Also Read: WAVES Summit 2025: Paving Way for Tech Pluralism

"In her new role, Fidji will focus on enabling our 'traditional' company functions to scale as we enter a next phase of growth. I’m passionate about many of these areas and I will stay closely involved with key company decisions. Fidji brings a rare blend of leadership, product and operational expertise, and genuine commitment to ensuring our technology benefits everyone," adds Altman.