Exclusive: Former OpenAI exec Fidji Simo discusses her battle with POTS and her startup’s plans to cure it with AI and 3,500 vials of blood (so far)

Fidji Simo, a former senior member of OpenAI's leadership team, was forced to resign after a seven-year battle with Postural Orthostatic Tachycardia Syndrome (POTS). Simo, who has previously worked at Meta and led Instacart, has now created a startup called ChronicleBio to use AI to cure diseases like POTS. ChronicleBio has already collected over 3,500 vials of blood and extracted 153 terabytes of data from patients with chronic illnesses, with the goal of identifying sub-diseases and developing effective treatments.

The company has raised $15 million in funding and plans to launch mobile phlebotomy trucks to bring blood draws to patients' homes. Simo's own experience with POTS has given her a deep understanding of the challenges faced by those with chronic illnesses, and she hopes her work with ChronicleBio will help improve their quality of life.