OpenAI closes the Simo chapter
A look back at Fidji Simo's brief, ambitious tenure, and the new org structure under Sam Altman and Greg Brockman.
Schedule note: I’m taking the next two weeks off for some much-needed R&R. I trust (not) that no major AI news will break while I’m gone.
Anyone closely following OpenAI’s palace intrigue wasn’t surprised when Fidji Simo announced yesterday that she isn’t returning to her job as the company’s number two. Greg Brockman absorbed most of her remit in mid-May on a non-interim basis, all but confirming that she wasn’t coming back. Simo is staying on as an advisor while she continues to work on her health, and I’m told she has talked with Brockman almost daily throughout her medical leave.
Simo originally hoped that her leave would last a month or two at most, according to my sources. The AI race doesn’t idle, though, and while some companies can maintain velocity on autopilot when a senior leader steps away, OpenAI clearly couldn’t.
