New Delhi, July 10 -- SAN FRANCISCO - Fourteen months after joining OpenAI to build the business around the world's most recognisable AI brand, Fidji Simo is stepping back from her full-time role, citing a relapse of the neuroimmune condition that had already required medical leave during her tenure. The departure, disclosed in a staff memo Thursday, leaves Sam Altman as the sole authoritative voice in OpenAI's executive structure at a moment when the company is pursuing a potential public offering and competing aggressively with Anthropic for enterprise contracts.

she had run Instacart through its 2023 IPO, spent more than a decade at Meta including a period running the Facebook app, and joined OpenAI's board in 2024 before moving to th...