Why OpenAI’s Fidji Simo Bought the TBPN Podcast Amid Crusade Against ‘Side Quests’
Simo, one of OpenAI’s top executives, spearheaded the surprise deal to buy the popular tech podcast after a series of public relations stumbles at the company in recent months. It’s an unconventional move at a time when Simo has been seeking to stamp out distractions at the company.
In recent weeks, Fidji Simo has burst into public view as the OpenAI executive bringing much-needed discipline to the AI startup, as it inches toward an initial public offering late this year.
Last month, Simo—who is now CEO of AGI Deployment—delivered the sobering message to the company’s staff that OpenAI can no longer chase “side quests” that distract it from its priorities. In the wake of that, OpenAI killed Sora, a video-generation tool that had sucked up scarce computing resources at the company. Earlier, OpenAI scaled back an Instant Checkout feature in ChatGPT that Simo had been skeptical of. And the company put its plans to allow ChatGPT to generate erotica on hold indefinitely.
It was striking, then, when Simo on Thursday announced one of the most unusual detours in OpenAI’s history: its acquisition of TBPN, a popular daily tech podcast hosted by John Coogan and Jordi Hays. Simo told OpenAI staffers that the podcasters will maintain their editorial independence, while also advising the company on marketing and communications. The TBPN news was so unexpected that some OpenAI employees thought it was a belated April Fools’ joke.