OpenAI's Fidji Simo: managing the company remotely from LA while betting on AI as personal shopper and travel agent
Nov 18, 2025
Key Points
- Fidji Simo, former Instacart CEO, now leads all revenue-generating functions at OpenAI while Sam Altman remains CEO overseeing research and compute, creating an unusual two-CEO structure.
- Simo frames profitability around positioning ChatGPT as a personal shopper, travel agent, and financial adviser for mass markets, but sidesteps how OpenAI will actually monetize these services.
- ChatGPT's holiday shopping capability outperforms generic gift guides by handling detailed constraints, yet OpenAI appears positioned to capture no direct revenue unless it builds commerce integrations.
Summary
OpenAI has appointed Fidji Simo, former CEO of Instacart, to lead all revenue-generating functions at the company. She oversees ChatGPT and every function that might make OpenAI money, while Sam Altman remains CEO and manages research and compute. The arrangement creates an unusual two-CEO structure within OpenAI's already complex governance, where a nonprofit oversees a for-profit that is now a public benefit corporation.
Simo manages the company remotely from Los Angeles due to postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS), a condition that makes prolonged standing difficult. She works from 8 a.m. to midnight most days, responding to Slack messages within five minutes. Employees confirm she maintains visible presence despite the distance.
Profitability path: AI as personal services
OpenAI loses billions annually despite being highly valued. Simo frames the profitability opportunity around what AI can deliver to mass markets. "In the past, only the wealthy had access to a team of helpers. With ChatGPT, we could give everyone that team: a personal shopper, a travel agent, a financial adviser, a health coach. That is incredibly valuable." She assumes people will "want to pay a lot of money for that" and revenue will follow.
The framing sidesteps a specific business model. Traditional travel agent economics rely on revenue sharing from hotels and services, not direct user payment. The actual monetization path remains unstated, whether through subscription premiums, advertising, transaction fees, or some hybrid. Her language hedges the claim. She acknowledges people may initially access the product for free with ads.
Holiday shopping opportunity
ChatGPT proves effective for gift selection, outperforming generic gift guides by accepting detailed constraints. A user can prompt for gifts for someone obsessed with horses, luxury watches, and European houses, and ChatGPT returns targeted results rather than mass-market suggestions. During the holiday season, shopping and gift-guide activity in ChatGPT should be immense, yet OpenAI appears positioned to capture no direct revenue from it unless it builds commerce integrations or takes a transaction cut.