Artificial intelligence company OpenAI's CEO Sam Altman announced the appointment of Fidji Simo as the CEO of Applications on Thursday, and she would report to him. In a post on social media platform X (formerly known as Twitter), he wrote, "So excited that @fidjissimo is joining openai in a new role: ceo of applications, reporting to me (sic)."
Clarifying Simo's role in the company, Altman added that he would remain the CEO of the company, and increase his focus on research, compute, and safety, which he says are critical as for "superintelligence". He wrote, "I'll remain CEO of OpenAI, but in this new configuration I'll be able to increase my focus on research, compute, and safety. These are critical as we approach superintelligence (sic)."
"I will work closely with our board on making sure our non-profit has maximum positive impact," he added.
Talking about her role in the company, Altman wrote, "Fidji is exceptional; we have worked together on OpenAI for the past year and I have observed her deep commitment to our mission. I cannot imagine a better new team member to help us scale the next 10x (or 100x, let's see) (sic)," he said.
"In her new role, Fidji will focus on enabling our 'traditional' company functions to scale as we enter a next phase of growth. I’m passionate about many of these areas and I will stay closely involved with key company decisions. Fidji brings a rare blend of leadership, product and operational expertise, and genuine commitment to ensuring our technology benefits everyone," he added.
Responding to Alman's tweets, Simo wrote: "So excited to be joining @openai and contributing to its mission. Thank you
@sama for the opportunity- it will be such a privilege to work with such a talented team on one of the most important and ambitious endeavors in history."
Talking about her role at Instacart, she added, "I’ll remain CEO of @Instacart for the next few months and Chair of the board after that; I’m so grateful to my Instacart team for the amazing ride we had together, and I look forward to supporting the next CEO during the transition." Who is Fidji Simo?
Simo, a French-American businesswoman, is currently the CEO and Chair of Instacart. As per her Instagram profile, she is also the co-founder of Metrodora Institute — a health clinic and research institute, and is presently the president of Metrodora Foundation. She is also on the Board of Directors at OpenAI and Shopify.
Prior to Instacart, the 39-year-old had spent a decade at Facebook where she was one of the top executives as the Head of Facebook.
She is an alumnus of UCLA Anderson School of Management and HEC Paris Business School.
Sam Altman's new role at OpenAI
In a significant reversal of previously announced restructuring plans, OpenAI announced that its nonprofit arm would maintain control of its business operations. Announcing this in a letter to employees, Altman had said, "We made the decision for the nonprofit to stay in control after hearing from civic leaders and having discussions with the offices of the Attorneys General of California and Delaware."
The AI company has plans to chart an alternative growth strategy, and Simo's appointment will likely be seen as a follow up to this announcement. Sources say these decisions would likely constrain CEO Sam Altman's authority over the company.
OpenAI makes ChatGPT and other artificial intelligence products.
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