Brockman’s remit widens at OpenAI as Simo steps back

OpenAI President Greg Brockman will continue overseeing the company’s product and commercial operations after Fidji Simo left her executive post because of chronic illness, CNBC reported. The management shift puts one of OpenAI’s co-founders in charge of revenue-producing businesses, including ChatGPT, as the company seeks to support an $852 billion valuation ahead of a prospective initial public offering.

Simo, a former Meta executive and former Instacart chief executive, had served for about a year as OpenAI’s product and business chief. She said Thursday that she would move into a part-time advisory role after previously taking medical leave in April, according to CNBC. Simo was diagnosed in 2019 with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome, or POTS.

CNBC reported, citing a person familiar with OpenAI’s plans, that Brockman assumed product duties during Simo’s absence and will keep those responsibilities. The person, who was not named because the matter is confidential, said Brockman will oversee ChatGPT’s product business, go-to-market teams, enterprise teams and compute initiatives.

“I am deeply grateful for all Fidji has done for OpenAI and to advance our mission, and for the opportunity to have worked alongside her for the past few years,” Brockman wrote Friday in a post on X.

Reporting lines shift under Altman

Brockman will report directly to Chief Executive Sam Altman, CNBC reported. Sarah Friar, OpenAI’s chief financial officer, and Jason Kwon, its strategy chief, will also report to Altman, while the company does not plan to hire a direct replacement for Simo, according to the person familiar with the plans.

The structure concentrates oversight of OpenAI’s largest commercial products under Brockman at a sensitive point for the company. OpenAI confidentially filed a prospectus with regulators in June, according to CNBC, although the company has not announced a date for a listing. CNBC reported that the debut is expected to be delayed until next year.

A confidential filing allows a company to begin regulatory review of its IPO documents before releasing them publicly. For a high-growth technology company, that process can give management time to address regulator comments, market conditions and investor questions before a roadshow.

OpenAI is also facing stronger pressure from rivals. CNBC cited Anthropic, Google, Elon Musk’s SpaceX and lower-cost open-weight models, particularly from China, as competitors. ChatGPT’s market share dropped below 50 percent for the first time in March, according to a Sensor Tower report cited by CNBC. OpenAI has been promoting Codex, its AI coding assistant, as it seeks to attract more users.

A long-standing Altman ally

Brockman helped found OpenAI in 2015 with Altman and others, including Musk. His alliance with Altman was visible during OpenAI’s 2023 governance crisis, when Altman was briefly removed as chief executive. Brockman resigned in support of Altman, and both men returned days later.

Altman described their working relationship in a blog post at the time, writing: “Greg and I are partners in running this company.” He added that OpenAI had not fully shown that relationship on an organization chart.

Brockman and Altman were also defendants in Musk’s lawsuit over OpenAI’s move toward a for-profit structure. Musk alleged that the company and its leaders broke commitments tied to OpenAI’s original nonprofit mission. In May, Brockman testified in federal court in Oakland, California, about OpenAI’s early history and disputed Musk’s account, according to CNBC.

Musk lost the case after an advisory jury found that he had waited too long to sue, a conclusion adopted by a federal judge, CNBC reported. During the trial, Brockman said from the witness stand: “I think the tech we are developing is transformative.”

This story draws on original reporting from CNBC.