When Fidji Simo resigned as OpenAI’s CEO of applications on Thursday, she shared a health lesson she learned the hard way.
Simo has postural orthostatic tachycardia syndrome, or POTS. On Thursday, she wrote on social media that she has lived with the chronic illness for seven years.
She wrote that she got sick while at Facebook, where she worked in various roles for a decade.
“Over the years, doctors, friends, colleagues, and loved ones encouraged me to slow down,” she wrote. “Two years after I got sick, Facebook offered me the opportunity to take a full year of medical leave. I didn’t even pause to consider it. I immediately said no. At the time, Zuck told me I should play the long game. I wish I had listened.”
She added: “Looking back, I realize that a lot of what made me successful also made this decision incredibly difficult.”
Zuckerberg did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Simo wrote that grabbing opportunities with both hands took her from a small town in southern France to doing more than she dreamed possible by age 40.
“But what I’m learning now is that grit and endurance are not the only skills required to have impact over decades. Sometimes the harder thing is to stop, listen, and trust that taking care of yourself today makes it possible to contribute for much longer tomorrow,” she said.
What is POTS?
POTS is a condition in which the autonomic nervous system, which regulates our involuntary bodily functions like heart rate, goes wrong. Symptoms are triggered when a person with POTS goes from seated to standing and can be debilitating.
Symptoms include chronic fatigue, heart palpitations, dizziness, sweating, nausea, fainting, and headaches.
Because POTS shares symptoms with a range of other conditions, it can be hard to diagnose, according to a 2026 review of the condition by top experts in the disease published in Heart, Lung and Circulation. There are no specific medications to treat it, and how each patient manages the condition is highly individual.
Simo said it was “jarring” to spend her days at OpenAI building what she sees as the future, while “navigating a disabling disease that still has no cure.”
Simo wrote that she will be transitioning from the company’s CEO of Applications to a part-time advisory role.
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman shared Simo’s post on X, writing: “i am really sad about this and very grateful for all 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.”
Simo rounded off her statement on Thursday by writing: “For now, my focus is recovery. But my belief in the potential of technology to solve deeply human problems has never been stronger.”
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