OpenAI hires former head of the Facebook app

OpenAI has hired Fidji Simo, the CEO of Instacart and former Facebook app chief, as the head of the company’s apps business. In a post on X, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman says introducing the new role will allow him to “focus on research, compute, and safety.” After joining Facebook in 2011, the company appointed Simo head of the Facebook app in 2019. Simo oversaw features like the News Feed, Stories, live video, and more, helping to build out the company’s advertising business. Instacart hired Simo as its CEO in 2021 and led efforts to bring the company public just two years later. Simo has served as an OpenAI board member since last year, but she won’t leave Instacart right away to join the AI giant. In a post on LinkedIn, Simo tells Instacart staff that she’s “not going anywhere for a couple of months,” adding that she’ll remain CEO until the company announces a successor. Apps have become a major part of OpenAI’s business as ChatGPT has launched across iOS, Android, Windows, and macOS. OpenAI is also building an X-like social network, as The Verge reported in April.