OpenAI’s soon-to-be CEO of Applications Fidji Simo is in the spotlight as the company plans to prepare for an initial public offering (IPO). A Wall Street Journal report notes she represents “a new generation of OpenAI leadership,” tasked with helping monetize the company during a period of rapid growth. Simo might even end up leading the earnings calls post-IPO.
Simo had taken Instacart public last year, helping to break the longest tech IPO drought in three decades. Instacart is an American grocery delivery and pickup service that partners with major retailers including Costco, Safeway, and Kroger, to provide customers with the ability to order groceries online. Simo is currently Instacart’s CEO, and plans to stay on for a few months following which she would continue as chair, while her successor would be found from among the company’s senior executives.
READ: Instacart CEO to head OpenAI applications under Sam Altman (May 8, 2025)
Prior to Instacart, Simo made a name for herself as the head of Facebook at Meta, a role she held from 2019 until 2021. She was among the highest-ranking female executives at Facebook, after then-COO Sheryl Sandberg and Marne Levine, who was chief business officer.
Meanwhile, OpenAI has recently decided that its nonprofit division will retain control over its for-profit organization, going against previous plans to convert the company to a for-profit organization. The company stated that the decision was made “after hearing from civic leaders and engaging in constructive dialogue with the offices of the Attorney General of Delaware and the Attorney General of California.” The now-scrapped plans to convert to a for-profit organization were controversial with billionaire entrepreneur and OpenAI co-founder Elon Musk being among those who opposed it. OpenAI also faced setbacks with Project Stargate, an initiative it backed with SoftBank to build AI data centers.
OpenAI, which has been supported financially by Microsoft for years, was recently valued at $300 billion in a funding round led by SoftBank.