OpenAI Hires Former Instacart CEO to Lead ChatGPT as Company Pushes for Profitability

Nov 18, 2025
WIRED
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Summary

OpenAI hires former Instacart CEO Fidji Simo to lead ChatGPT operations and drive profitability as the AI giant plans to transform the chatbot into a comprehensive personal services platform covering shopping, travel, and financial advice while introducing advertising to free users.

Key Points

  • OpenAI hires former Instacart CEO Fidji Simo as CEO of Applications to oversee ChatGPT and revenue-generating functions while Sam Altman focuses on research and compute
  • Simo plans to make ChatGPT indispensable by expanding it into personal services like shopping, travel planning, and financial advice, with advertising eventually coming to the free tier
  • The company faces massive losses despite being valued as one of the world's most valuable startups, with Simo betting on huge market opportunities and billion-dollar compute deals to achieve profitability

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