“Zuck told me to play the long game. I wish I’d listened”: OpenAI’s Fidji Simo has biggest career regret | Today’s news
Fidji Simo, who stepped down as CEO of OpenAI Apps on Thursday, opened up about living with a chronic illness and shared the health advice she once received from Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg — advice she now wishes she had followed.
According to Business InsiderIn a post on social media, Simo revealed that she had been living with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS) for the past seven years. Reflecting on her career and health, she said she became ill while working at Facebook, where she spent a decade in various leadership roles.
“I immediately said no”: Fidji Simo considers refusing medical leave
In her post, Simo said that despite repeated urgings from doctors, colleagues, friends and loved ones to slow down, she continues to prioritize work.
“Over the years, doctors, friends, colleagues and loved ones have encouraged me to slow down,” she wrote. “Two years after I got sick, Facebook offered me the opportunity to take a full year off. I didn’t even think about it. I immediately said no. At the time, Zuck told me I should play the long game. I wish I’d listened.”
Read also | Who is Fidji Simo? OpenAI’s top representative for AGI deployment is stepping down
She added: “Looking back, I realize that a lot of what made me successful also made this decision incredibly difficult.”
Simo said her determination and willingness to take on opportunities helped her rise from a small town in the south of France to achieve more than she imagined by the age of 40. However, she said her view of success has evolved.
“But what I’m learning now is that grit and persistence aren’t the only skills needed to make an impact decades down the line. Sometimes it’s harder to stop, listen, and believe that if you take care of yourself today, you’ll be able to contribute much longer tomorrow,” she wrote.
Read also | Open AI Fidji Simo says the AI investment frenzy is the new normal, not a bubble
What is POTS?
Postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome (POTS) is a disorder affecting the autonomic nervous system, which controls involuntary body functions such as heart rate. Symptoms are usually triggered when a person moves from sitting to standing and can significantly affect daily life.
Common symptoms include chronic fatigue, dizziness, palpitations, sweating, nausea, fainting, and headaches.
According to a 2026 review published in Heart, Lung and Circulation, POTS can be difficult to diagnose because its symptoms overlap with several other medical conditions. The review also noted that there are no specific drugs to treat the disorder and treatment varies from patient to patient.
Read also | OpenAI is hiring to build ChatGPT for families. Here’s what we know
Describing the contrast between her work and her health, Simo wrote that she found it “excruciating” to spend her days at OpenAI building what she believes is the future while “going through a disease she still can’t cure.”
She said she will transition from her role as general manager of applications to a part-time consultant role.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman re-shared Sim’s post on X, writing: “I’m really saddened by this and very grateful for everything Fidji has done for openai and even grateful for her friendship and who she is as a person. We all wish her the best for a speedy recovery. This sucks.”
Concluding her statement, Simo wrote: “For now, my focus is on recovery. But my belief in technology’s potential to solve deeply human problems has never been stronger.”
Who is Fidji Simo?
Fidji Simo holds a Master of Science in Management from HEC Paris and an additional Master’s in Business/Commerce from the UCLA Anderson School of Management.
Prior to joining OpenAI, she served as CEO of Instacart. Her career also includes more than a decade at Facebook, where she held several leadership roles in product management before becoming Head of Facebook Applications.
She has also served on the boards of Shopify, Cirque du Soleil Entertainment Group, and OpenAI, while co-founding the Metrodora Institute and ChronicleBio. She joined OpenAI in 2025 as General Manager of AGI Deployment, after which she served as General Manager of Applications.
