OpenAI Aims for Growth: Simo's Vision
Source: pymnts.com
Fidji Simo's Vision for OpenAI
Fidji Simo, the incoming CEO of applications at OpenAI, envisions substantial business growth, potentially exceeding a 100-fold increase. She expressed this outlook at the VivaTech 2025 conference in Paris, during her first public interview since her appointment in May.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman praised Simo as an exceptional choice to help the company scale significantly. During a fireside chat on Thursday (June 12), Simo shared her vision for AI as an integrated layer in daily life, impacting how people work, learn, shop, and manage their health.
Simo, who will officially join OpenAI in August and report to Altman, will be responsible for translating the company’s research into widely used applications. Her team will focus on distributing the benefits of AI to society, empowering individuals in various aspects of their lives by increasing productivity and facilitating access to knowledge.
Simo's Background and OpenAI's Strategy
Simo's arrival at OpenAI coincides with strategic moves, including the acquisition of io, Jony Ive's AI device startup. This acquisition, combined with OpenAI's foundational models and Simo's leadership in applications, aims to create a company with a diverse product range.
Simo's experience includes transforming Instacart into a data-rich platform that enhanced grocery shopping's digital aspects. She noted that Instacart transitioned from a pandemic-driven service to a platform that digitizes brick-and-mortar grocers' operations. This involved launching a retail media network and AI-driven shopping tools, such as the “Caper Cart.”
Regarding the limited success of fully automated stores, Simo suggested that customers prefer stores that include human interaction, with technology augmenting human labor, not replacing it.
AI Integration at Instacart
While at Instacart, Simo led an initiative to integrate AI across the company. This resulted in AI assistance for 87% of code written by engineers, AI-enhanced marketing campaigns, AI-based press interview simulations for the PR team, and AI-supported contract analysis for the legal team.
Future of AI at OpenAI
Simo's role at OpenAI places her at the center of AI development. She believes OpenAI's future extends beyond chatbots and large language models. Simo envisions AI as an ambient layer accessible through various devices, with the potential to support individuals through a team of AI agents that assist in education, healthcare, and daily tasks.
Simo also addressed the failures of enterprise AI efforts, noting that companies should focus on solving specific problems with AI, rather than implementing it for its own sake. At Instacart, she implemented AI training programs and designated AI advocates to promote the adoption of new tools. She plans to apply this experience to scale OpenAI’s applications by integrating AI into workflows and building infrastructure for broad adoption.
Simo's personal experiences also motivate her work in AI. After being diagnosed with a neuroimmune condition, she started a research institute to gather health data to accelerate medical discoveries using AI. She sees AI’s potential in improving access to health information.
As OpenAI plans for future expansion, Simo’s appointment indicates a focus on developing AI products for a broad consumer base. She emphasized that AI should impact everyone’s lives, reaching billions of users and providing value in multiple areas.