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OpenAI hires ex-Instacart CEO for new applications division

Business

OpenAI just picked Fidji Simo to lead its new Applications division, a role created to turn AI research into real products for everyone.
She'll report directly to CEO Sam Altman and help shape how OpenAI's tech shows up in daily life around the world.

What Simo will do at OpenAI

OpenAI handles over 2.5 billion ChatGPT prompts every day, serving hundreds of millions globally.
With Simo on board, the company aims to build AI tools that boost knowledge, creativity, health, and economic freedom—and make these tools easier for all to access.
Her arrival also frees up Altman to focus on massive projects like artificial general intelligence and the $500 billion Stargate initiative.

Simo's note to staff

Fidji Simo was Instacart's CEO before this move and calls herself a "pragmatic technologist."
In her first note to staff, she said it's important that AI creates opportunities for everyone—not just a few—lining up with OpenAI's goal of making useful, affordable AI for people everywhere.