It’s happening.
Fidji Simo is out of her full-time gig running OpenAI’s AGI division. She told us this on X. Now she’s just a “part-time advisor.”
Not unexpected. Well, maybe a little.
She stepped back in April. Took a few weeks off. Cited a neuroimmune condition. This was right after she’d just put on the AGI Chief hat. (She used to be the CEO of applications there. Heavy titles).
She wasn’t alone.
Around the same time COO Brad Lightcap bowed out to focus on “special projects.” CMO Kate Rouch stepped down for her health too. Said she’d return to a narrower role when she could.
Simo’s absence triggered a wave.
C-suite shakeup. Greg Brockman took over product. Led the super app dreams. Jason Kwon (CSO), Sarah Friar (CFO), Denise Dresser (CRO) held down the business side.
Then May came.
Mid-month pivot. Brockman seized total control of product strategy and “scaling.” He grabbed four pillars. Core product. Critical enterprise. Consumer stuff like health and finance. Plus infrastructure and ads.
In a memo seen by The Verge, he argued the reorg would prioritize AI agents. Merge ChatGPT and Codex. One unified agentic experience.
“Three months ago, I had to take medical leave after a severe flare-up of a chronic illness I’ve carried for seven years.”
Simo wrote this.
“The recovery path was longer and weirder than I thought. I have to focus on that. It is jarring to spend my days building the future while navigating a disease that still has no cure.”
Hard reality check.
Sam Altman was “really sad” on X. Expressed gratitude.
Standard exec mourning. Or real.
She built a lot.
Now she’s building herself. Maybe that’s harder.
