Fidji Simo is leaving her full-time role as OpenAI’s AGI chief. She’s moving to a part-time advisor position instead.
Simo announced back in April she’d take medical leave for a neuroimmune condition. That was right after she got the AGI chief title — she’d previously been the company’s CEO of applications. The leave turned into something longer than expected.
“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.”
Her departure is part of a bigger shuffle at OpenAI. Around the same time Simo went on leave, COO Brad Lightcap stepped down to focus on “special projects.” CMO Kate Rouch also left temporarily for health reasons, planning to return to a narrower role. President Greg Brockman took over product strategy and “scaling” in a May reorganization that combined ChatGPT and Codex into one platform.
CEO Sam Altman said he was “really sad about this” and grateful to Simo.
Simo described the experience as jarring: “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.”
