Fidji Simo

She studied at HEC Paris from 2004 to 2008 with a scholarship, interned at eBayeBayeBay Inc. is an online marketplace company headquartered in San Jose, California, United States, founded in 1995 by Pierre Omidyar; it started out with person-to-person online auctions and listed on Nasdaq in 1998. As of the end of 2025, it had 135 million active buyers, and its platform’s gross merchandise volume in 2025 was nearly $80 billion.Open the full entry and spent her final year in Los Angeles through its UCLA partnership before working in California.⁠[1]

A 2016 Women In Product interview identified her as a founding member. She recalled moving from eBay strategy into Facebook product marketing and, about a year later, product management.⁠[2]

HEC records her 2008 management degree and her later leadership of the Facebook app, including work on Live, Watch, Stories and Marketplace.⁠[3]

Instacart named Simo CEO effective August 2, 2021, with founder Apoorva Mehta becoming executive chairman.⁠[4]

On May 7, OpenAI announced that she would become CEO of Applications later in 2025, reporting to company CEO Sam AltmanSam AltmanSam Altman is an entrepreneur and investor, and the co-founder and chief executive officer of OpenAI. He previously served as president of Y Combinator and founded the location-based social service Loopt. He also helped found Tools for Humanity and Merge Labs, has invested in energy and life sciences ventures, and has driven public discussion of AI governance, employment, and wealth distribution.Open the full entry and leading business and operational teams that bring research to users.⁠[5]

In a May 28 company letter, she announced Chris Rogers as CEO effective August 15 and said she would remain chair at that time to support the transition.⁠[6]

ChronicleBio announced in August that Simo, CEO Rohit Gupta and executive chairman Rishi Reddy co-founded it to build AI-ready data and biobanks for complex chronic conditions.⁠[7]

Complex Disorders Alliance identifies Simo as co-founder and president. In its profile, she says a 2019 postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) diagnosis motivated work to fund research and build patient datasets.⁠[8]

After her CEO tenure, the FTC announced a proposed $60 million Instacart refund settlement in December over delivery claims, refunds and subscriptions. Its notice required judicial approval and did not accuse Simo individually.⁠[9]

Instacart’s same-day response denied wrongdoing, called the inquiry’s foundation flawed and said it had settled the matters.⁠[10]

The Sick Times reported that Metrodora, co-founded by Simo, Laura Pace and James Hemp, opened in Utah in 2023 and closed in July 2025. Former patients alleged billing, testing and care problems; the report said relevant organizations did not respond to comment requests, without establishing Simo’s personal liability.⁠[11]

ReutersReutersReuters is an international news agency founded in London in 1851 by Paul Julius Reuter and is now the news business of Thomson Reuters. It provides text, photo, video, and graphics coverage to media and institutional clients and distributes it through channels such as Reuters Connect.Open the full entry reported on July 9 that, following extended medical leave, she would leave the full-time AGI Deployment CEO role, previously called CEO of Applications, to become a part-time advisor.⁠[12]

On September 11, Nscale appointed her an independent director effective immediately and confirmed her continuing OpenAI advisory role. It also lists her Shopify directorship.⁠[13]

Complex Disorders Alliance: https://www.complexdisorders.org/founder (opens in a new window)⁠[8]

ChronicleBio: Official link: https://chroniclebio.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[7]

Fidji Simo Personal Website: Personal links: https://fidjisimo.substack.com/ (opens in a new window)⁠[14]

X: Public account: https://x.com/fidjissimo (opens in a new window)⁠[15]

LinkedInLinkedInLinkedIn is a social networking platform for professionals. It was founded in 2002 by Reid Hoffman and others, launched in 2003, and listed on the New York Stock Exchange in 2011; after Microsoft acquired it for approximately $26.2 billion in 2016, it became a wholly owned Microsoft subsidiary. Its revenue comes from membership subscriptions, advertising, and recruitment solutions.Open the full entry: Public profile: https://www.linkedin.com/in/fidjisimo/ (opens in a new window)⁠[16]

Shopify: https://www.shopify.com/investors/board-of-directors (opens in a new window)⁠[13]

OpenAI Appointment: Official link: https://openai.com/index/leadership-expansion-with-fidji-simo/ (opens in a new window)⁠[5]

Instacart Transition Letter: Official link: https://company.instacart.com/updates/leadership-update-a-letter-from-fidji-simo-2 (opens in a new window)⁠[6]