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Dive Brief:

Instacart announced Wednesday that CEO and Chair Fidji Simo will be departing “in the coming months” from the company to become CEO of OpenAI Applications. Simo will continue her duties at Instacart’s helm and work closely to appoint her successor, who the company’s board expects will be an existing member of Instacart’s management team, per the announcement. Simo joined Instacart as CEO in 2021 and led the company through multiple acquisitions and an expansion into new in-store technology like smart carts and digital shelf tags.

Dive Insight:

Instacart’s disclosure of its planned CEO shift comes just days after it reported its highest quarterly revenue since going public in September 2023 — and Simo said the company’s strong performance was a key factor in her decision to join OpenAI.

“We are operating incredibly well as our last earnings results have shown. Our strategy is working and this team is top notch, which makes it very hard to leave,” Simo said in a letter to employees. “I only feel comfortable doing this because Instacart is on an excellent track and in great hands with a stellar management team.”

Simo, who already serves on OpenAI’s board, indicated that Instacart did not intend to announce that she would be stepping down as CEO so quickly, but had to accelerate its timeline by several weeks because the information was leaked to the media.

She said that while she is “deeply proud of the work we’ve done together and even more excited about the road ahead” for Instacart, her deep interest in artificial intelligence technology made the chance to become a top leader at OpenAI “a hard opportunity to pass up.”

Simo said she was drawn to OpenAI because of her overall passion for AI technology and, specifically, the promise AI holds to cure diseases. OpenAI roared to prominence in 2022 with the introduction of ChatGPT.

At OpenAI, Simo will lead a group of existing business and operational teams responsible for how the company’s research “reaches and benefits the world,” OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said in a Wednesday letter to staffers. Simo will report directly to Altman.

“In her new role, Fidji will focus on enabling our ‘traditional’ company functions to scale as we enter a next phase of growth,” Altman said. “Fidji brings a rare blend of leadership, product and operational expertise, and genuine commitment to ensuring our technology benefits everyone.”

Simo, a former Facebook executive, became CEO of Instacart in August 2021, replacing founder Apoorva Mehta. She joined Instacart’s board in February 2021.

Story Continues

Instacart took strides under Simo’s leadership toward diversifying beyond its legacy business as an e-commerce services supplier for grocers. The company’s moves included expanding into smart carts through its purchase of Caper AI just weeks after she became CEO and rolling out Instacart Platform, a suite of technologies and services for retailers, in early 2022.

Earlier this week, Instacart launched a separate app for delivery orders of snacks and drinks known as Fizz.

“Leading Instacart and being on this journey with you has been an honor … we have proven that we can take any challenges and turn them into massive opportunities,” Simo wrote in her letter.

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