Fidji Simo, OpenAI's chief executive of AGI deployment, is stepping down from her full-time role and moving into a part-time advisory position. The change follows a months-long medical leave prompted by a worsening chronic neuroimmune condition, which Simo said in a post on X had deteriorated more severely than expected and now required her full attention. Her departure removes a senior figure who had been brought in specifically to run OpenAI's product and business operations, freeing chief executive Sam Altman to concentrate on research and infrastructure.

Simo joined OpenAI's board in March 2024 before Altman hired her to lead its product and business organisations, having previously served as chief executive of Instacart and head of the Facebook app at Meta. She was diagnosed in 2019 with postural tachycardia syndrome (POTS) and said she had postponed medical tests and treatments to stay focused on work. Her exit comes amid a wider executive reshuffle: former COO Brad Lightcap has moved to oversee special projects, co-founder Greg Brockman has taken over product strategy, and Thibault Sottiaux now heads core products including ChatGPT. The reorganisation coincides with OpenAI's push towards a planned 2027 IPO at a reported $1 trillion valuation, a "superapp" strategy merging ChatGPT, its browser and coding agent, and a major ChatGPT update launched the same day.