Fidji Simo steps down from leading OpenAI’s AGI work due to illness
OpenAI’s Fidji Simo is departing her full-time role as the company’s AGI chief and is transitioning to being a “part-time advisor,” she said on X.
The news follows Simo’s original announcement in April that she would take a few weeks of medical leave due to a neuroimmune condition, shortly after she had taken on the AGI chief title. (She had formerly been the company’s CEO of applications). Around the same time, COO Brad Lightcap also stepped down from his role to focus on “special projects,” and OpenAI CMO Kate Rouch also stepped down in order to focus on her health. Rouch planned to return to a “more narrowly scoped role” when her health allowed for it, Simo said at the time.
Simo’s announcement in April also kicked off months of announcements of C-suite changes. While Simo was out on medical leave, OpenAI president Greg Brockman was to take charge of product, including leading OpenAI’s super app efforts, while CSO Jason Kwon, CFO Sarah Friar, and CRO Denise Dresser led the business side of things.
But about a month later, in mid-May, things changed again, with a company reorganization: Brockman officially took charge of OpenAI’s product strategy and “scaling,” leading four different pillars: core product and platform; critical enterprise industries; consumer (i.e., health, commerce, and personal finance); and core infrastructure, ads, data science, and growth. In a memo viewed by The Verge in May, Brockman wrote that the reorganization would help the company prioritize its AI agent goals by combining its products to “invest in a single agentic platform and to merge ChatGPT and Codex into one unified agentic experience for all.”
“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 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 … 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.”
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman wrote on X that he was “really sad about this” and grateful to Simo.
OpenAI’s Fidji Simo is departing her full-time role as the company’s AGI chief and is transitioning to being a “part-time advisor,” she said on X. The news follows Simo’s original announcement in April that she would take a few weeks of medical leave due to a neuroimmune condition, shortly after…
Recent Posts
- New study finds bosses are far more comfortable sharing work documents with AI than their employees — despite the security risks
- Corsair Discount Code: Up to 50% Off for August 2026
- Xiaomi will now let you pre-order its first NAS — and at a surprisingly attractive price for customers everywhere
- ‘The right approach is for people to deeply control the future’: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman is worried about AI being controlled by just a few powerful players
- Adam Mosseri says it’s ‘news to me’ that Instagram employees limited his exposure to teen safety data
Archives
- August 2026
- July 2026
- June 2026
- May 2026
- April 2026
- March 2026
- February 2026
- January 2026
- December 2025
- November 2025
- October 2025
- September 2025
- August 2025
- July 2025
- June 2025
- May 2025
- April 2025
- March 2025
- February 2025
- January 2025
- December 2024
- November 2024
- October 2024
- September 2024
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023