Fidji Simo, who held the title of CEO of AGI deployment at OpenAI, announced Thursday that she will be leaving her full-time position at the company behind ChatGPT, transitioning instead to a part-time advisory role following an extended medical leave.
Simo shared the news publicly, explaining that a serious health setback had forced her to take stock of her situation. “Three months ago, I had to go on medical leave after a severe exacerbation of a chronic illness I’ve lived with for seven years. During that time, it became clear that the road to recovery would be much longer and more complex than I had anticipated—and that I needed to focus on it fully,” she wrote in a post on X.
Simo was one of three individuals who joined OpenAI’s board of directors in March 2024, following Sam Altman’s return to his role as CEO of the company.
Altman responded to the news with a heartfelt message of his own on X. “I am really sad about this and very grateful for all Fidji has done for OpenAI, and even grateful for her friendship and who she is as a person,” he wrote.
