OpenAI's Fidji Simo steps down to focus on health
Fidji Simo, a top executive at OpenAI, is stepping down from her full-time role to focus on recovering from a chronic neuroimmune condition. She will transition into an advisory position to continue supporting the company while prioritizing her health.
Why it matters
Simo's departure marks another significant leadership change at OpenAI as the company navigates a high-stakes IPO and ongoing executive turnover.
Top Silicon Valley executive Fidji Simo announced Wednesday she is leaving her full-time role at OpenAI to go part-time as an advisor and focus on recovery from a chronic illness.
Simo, who joined the ChatGPT-maker in mid-2025 as CEO of Applications and became one of chief executive Sam Altman's top lieutenants, said in a post on X that three months of medical leave had made clear her recovery would take far longer and be more complex than expected.
"I am only making this decision now because I failed to make it many times before," she wrote, revealing that over seven years of illness, she had repeatedly ignored advice to slow down.
The 40-year-old French-American executive had been on medical leave since April due to a severe flare-up of postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a neuroimmune condition she has lived with since 2019.
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