Instacart CEO leaving to take chief role at Chat GPT developer ...
After four years as CEO of Instacart, Fidji Simo is moving on. Simo is departing the company to become the chief executive of artificial intelligence research and deployment company OpenAI. In a letter shared with Instacart employees announcing her decision that was also posted on the grocery technology company’s corporate blog, Simo said she loves Instacart and praised its recent strong quarterly earnings results (went public in 2023 during her time as CEO). However, she also cited her deep interest in the potential for AI to help people.
“(Y)ou all know my passion for AI generally and in particular for the potential it has to cure diseases — the ability to lead such an important part of our collective future was a hard opportunity to pass up," Simo said in the letter. "I only feel comfortable doing this because Instacart is on an excellent track and in great hands with a stellar management team.” Simo said she will not leave her current role for a couple of months and that she expects a new CEO will be selected soon from Instacart’s existing senior management team. According to Simo, a media leak moved the announcement of her departure up several weeks. She plans to host an employee town hall Thursday, May 8 to answer questions from the workforce.
OpenAI and ChatGPT
OpenAI is the developer of ChatGPT, the first generative AI model to be deployed on a widespread basis. ChatGPT interacts with users in a conversational style that mimics human interaction and uses machine learning (ML) to continually refine and improve its responses. Simo will report to the company’s founder and CEO Sam Altman.
“Today’s announcement is not a reflection of any changes in our business or operations," Instacart said in the email. "We’re off to a strong start in 2025 as we continue to execute on our vision of building the technologies that power the future of grocery for our partners.”
In an emailed statement to Chain Store Age, Instacart said its board has consistently conducted succession planning exercises and confirmed that it expects the company's new CEO will be announced soon and come from senior management. Simo will work to help ensure a smooth transition and will also remain chair of the Instacart board to support the company’s new CEO.
Simo's Contributions and Career Highlights
In September 2022, about a year after her August 2021 appointment as CEO, Simo marked Instacart’s 10th anniversary by publicly outlining the company’s strategy for the next 10 years and saying grocery is ready for its "next, tech-enabled chapter.” Instacart, which earlier this month acquired Wynshop, a provider of e-commerce solutions for more than a dozen global grocers and retailers, began moving forward with the plan outlined by Simo by rolling out Instacart Platform, which is comprised of e-commerce storefronts and fulfillment solutions custom-built for grocers, as well as digital integrations and connected hardware to enhance the brick-and-mortar experience.
Under Simo’s tenure, Instacart also launched Connected Stores — a bundle of new and existing Instacart Platform technologies intended to help grocers build a unified, seamless and personalized experience — online and in-store. Connected Stores includes Caper Cart, an AI-powered smart cart Instacart acquired in October 2021 and has upgraded several times since which is equipped with scales, sensors, touchscreens, and computer vision technology. It also offers a scan & pay feature which lets customers scan items as they shop and pay for them using their mobile phone. Other Connected Stores features include the FoodStorm order management system (OMS), which Instacart acquired in October 2021; Carrot Tags, which enable retailers to connect electronic shelf labels to Instacart Platform to add functionality such as pick-to-light capabilities and product information display; and an API that helps retailers provide automatic, real-time alerts to associates when items are running low or out of stock. In addition, the company offers the Instacart Ads self-serve ad service, which brands and agencies can use to purchase search ads, set goals and advertising budgets, and manage bidding.
Simo initially joined the board of Instacart in 2021, when she was working as head of the Facebook app. She also has been a member of the OpenAI board since March 2024 and co-founded the health-focused Metadora Institute in 2021. Simo initially joined Facebook as a product marketing and advertiser manager in 2011 and worked her way up through several increasingly high-level positions on the way to being named head of the app. Prior to Facebook, she served as a strategy manager at eBay for several years. Simo holds business-related master’s degrees from UCLA and HEC-Paris.
