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Sources · 3 min · Feb 11, 2026
Codex could let solo builders do work once done by teams
Fidji Simo
Fidji Simo points to a one-person builder who made something that once would have taken hundreds of people.
In this episode
Full analysis- 42:21ChatGPT is starting with intent-based ads and firm limits8 min
- 1:09:57AI relationships need guardrails, not a blanket banPro pick 6 min
- 1:19:51OpenAI separates long-term research from product deadlines4 min
- 1:24:17Codex could let solo builders do work once done by teams3 min
“I was literally just talking to a guy yesterday that built an entire thing that would have taken teams of hundreds.”
Fidji Simoat 1:25:37 · Sources
Takeaways
- Simo predicts solo companies will become possible.
- She expects companies to see major productivity gains.
- Codex capabilities could power tasks inside ChatGPT.
About this segment
Fidji Simo points to a one-person builder who made something that once would have taken hundreds of people. She sees Codex's capabilities eventually powering ChatGPT as it takes on tasks.
Fidji Simo is CEO of Applications at OpenAI.
Led OpenAI's applications business after serving as Instacart's CEO, and now advises the company part-time.
Alex Heath, Host · Founder & host, Sources
Left The Verge to start Sources in 2025; it has made over $1M since, mostly from sponsors.
From “OpenAI's Fidji Simo on why ads are coming to ChatGPT”, Feb 11, 2026. Watch the full episode
Thanks. We'll look at and fix what's off.
Transcript
Transcribed by machine (Whisper) from the episode’s audio, so a word may be off here and there.
- 1:24:29
is with the AI coding assistance or generators. When you guys think about Codex in the future, what outcome gets you and your team the most excited? Is it that Fortune 500 companies get bigger and faster? You know, I know there's a lot of money there. Is it that there are more solopreneurs able to build their own product and make a business? Is it that more human problems get solved that couldn't have been solved because it took five people to make an app before and they can't sell product to a few hundred people? You know, what outcomes excite you most with Codex?
- 1:24:59
Why do I need to pick? Well, I would tell you like, it's been like the last month has been just so insane because we really crossed the threshold of like everything becoming possible with codex and and we are seeing like even internally just people reach for codex first before reaching for any other tool and and that's like a really interesting time and so i think i think it's a lot of those things obviously i'm very interested in like scientific breakthroughs because I think that's what, you know, leaves humanity the most.
- 1:25:35
But in the short term, I think we're going to see just massive productivity gains by companies that are going to be able to reinvest that in building even more better things for the world. I do think that solo companies are going to be possible. I was literally just talking to a guy yesterday that built an entire thing that would have taken teams of hundreds. And I was like, oh, this is amazing. How large is your company?
- 1:26:00
he's like it's just me and and i was like that's that's incredible uh and so i i think to to me the biggest underlying thing is reminding everyone that we all have the ability to create we all have agency and now these tools allow you to create even if you didn't know how to code even if you didn't know how to create a video and that is a very powerful thing when you think about the future of humanity if everyone could be reminded of their own agency and ability to create I think we would create a better world.
- 1:26:32
In the pantheon of these big products, do you think there's a world where maybe Codex is more impactful than chat? Absolutely. But I think it's not just like those products as completely separate. It's like when you think about what chat needs to do, I was telling you a minute ago, it needs to go from a chat bot to a personal assistant that can do any task. You can imagine a lot of what Codex is doing powering chat.
- 1:26:58
And so I think there's going to be a convergence of those products over time. But the underlying harness of Codex is allowing us to do so many things, not just in coding, but even in other industries.