OpenAI has lost its number-two executive, adding to a string of senior departures at the company in recent months as it faces a delayed public offering and growing competition in the artificial intelligence market.
Fidji Simo told OpenAI she was leaving after an extended medical leave, according to an internal note viewed by the Wall Street Journal. Simo has been battling a chronic neuroimmune condition called Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome since 2019. In the note, she said her condition had worsened and that her road to recovery would take far longer than originally expected.
"This has been one of the hardest decisions of my career, but my body left me no choice — my symptoms became as loud as I am stubborn," she said in the internal note.
Simo joined OpenAI last August. Her role was designed to handle the day-to-day operations of the company, freeing CEO Sam Altman to focus on broader strategy. She oversaw the chief financial officer and chief revenue officer and led OpenAI's product and business divisions. She announced in April that her condition had worsened and that she was taking medical leave. She will continue in a part-time advisory capacity.
Her departure is not the first high-level loss this year. In April, three senior executives left OpenAI in a single day, according to Business Insider. Kevin Weil, who had led the company's scientific research after serving as chief product officer, departed. So did Bill Peebles, who had headed the now-defunct video app Sora, and Srinivas Narayanan, the chief technology officer for business-to-business applications.
The Journal reported that Simo's initial step back in April "created a leadership vacuum at the time, raising questions among investors and employees about the future direction of the company."
The departures come as OpenAI has reportedly pushed back its initial public offering from 2026 to 2027. The delay followed concerns about weakening market enthusiasm and rising competition from rivals including Anthropic, whose Claude AI assistant has been gaining market share.
OpenAI had been widely expected to be one of the largest technology IPOs in years. The company is valued at close to a trillion dollars. The combination of executive turnover, a delayed IPO, and stronger competition from Anthropic and others now puts pressure on Altman to stabilize leadership ahead of any public market debut.
