New Delhi, July 11 -- SAN FRANCISCO - Fidji Simo, the executive who came to OpenAI with a mandate to build out its business empire, has stepped down after a relapse of the chronic neurological condition that forced her onto medical leave earlier this year, leaving the artificial intelligence company without its second-most powerful figure as it works toward an initial public offering and a structural transformation from its nonprofit origins.

Greg Brockman, the company's president who had largely withdrawn from day-to-day operations, will now take over the product business that Simo led since joining from Instacart in May 2025. The handoff places a co-founder with deep technical credentials at the head of a commercial operation that has ...