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businessOpenAI · Statsig · Fidji Simo · Vijaye Raji · Srinivas Narayanan · Kevin Weil

OpenAI acquires Statsig for $1.1 billion, appoints CEO as applications CTO

The ChatGPT-maker buys a product-experimentation startup and reshuffles its executive ranks as it builds out a dedicated applications unit under new CEO Fidji Simo.

OpenAI announced Tuesday it is acquiring Statsig, a Seattle-based product-experimentation startup, for $1.1 billion. As part of the acquisition, Statsig founder and CEO Vijaye Raji will join OpenAI as its new Chief Technology Officer of Applications, overseeing product engineering for ChatGPT and Codex and reporting directly to Fidji Simo, OpenAI’s recently appointed CEO of Applications.

Simo, who left Instacart to join OpenAI as CEO of Applications on August 18, praised Raji’s record of building consumer and B2B products at scale. OpenAI said Statsig will continue to operate independently and serve its existing customers from its Seattle office, with integration to be handled ‘in a measured approach.’ The deal is subject to regulatory approval.

The company simultaneously announced other executive moves. Srinivas Narayanan, who oversaw engineering for ChatGPT and developer APIs, is being promoted to CTO of B2B Applications, reporting to COO Brad Lightcap. Chief Product Officer Kevin Weil is transitioning to a new research role as VP of AI for Science, working under Chief Research Officer Mark Chen. His product team, including ChatGPT head Nick Turley, will now report to Simo.

The move follows OpenAI’s roughly $6.5 billion all-equity purchase of Jony Ive’s hardware startup IO in May.

V
Vijaye Raji

The Statsig founder called joining OpenAI a "rare and meaningful opportunity" to build AI-powered experiences at scale for people and businesses, in a LinkedIn post.

One year later — open only if you can handle spoilers

Raji settled in as OpenAI's CTO of Applications, still running product engineering for ChatGPT and Codex into 2026 — the hire that stuck from a season of executive churn. The deal was an early brick in the Applications division Fidji Simo was assembling, walling off OpenAI's consumer and enterprise products from its research arm; Statsig kept operating out of its Seattle office.

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