Sarah Frier

Person

CFO of OpenAI who caused controversy by telling the Wall Street Journal she hoped for a US government 'backstop' for financing data centers, a comment she later clarified.


First Mentioned

11/8/2025, 6:51:41 AM

Last Updated

11/8/2025, 6:52:07 AM

Research Retrieved

11/8/2025, 6:52:06 AM

Summary

Sarah Frier is an American journalist and author, widely recognized for her 2020 book "No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram," which earned the Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year Award. She has a long-standing career at Bloomberg News, where she serves as a Big Tech Team Leader and reporter in San Francisco. According to the provided context, Frier also holds the position of CFO at OpenAI, a role in which she made a notable public comment in the Wall Street Journal about desiring a "Federal backstop for AI," a remark she subsequently retracted after it was interpreted as a request for government financial assistance.

Referenced in 1 Document
Research Data
Extracted Attributes
  • Education

    University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (Media and Journalism)

  • Book Award

    Financial Times/McKinsey 2020 Business Book of the Year Award

  • Occupation

    Author

  • Nationality

    American

  • Book Authored

    No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram

  • Role at OpenAI

    CFO

  • Book Publication Year

    2020

  • Location (Journalism)

    San Francisco

  • Role at Bloomberg News

    Reporter

  • Current Employer (Business)

    OpenAI

  • Current Employer (Journalism)

    Bloomberg News

Timeline
  • Began studying Media and Journalism at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. (Source: Web Search Results)

    2007-01-01

  • Served as a Correspondent for Bay Area News Group during a summer internship. (Source: Web Search Results)

    2008-05-01

  • Served as a News Intern for The Sacramento Bee during a summer internship. (Source: Web Search Results)

    2009-05-01

  • Graduated from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill with a degree in media and journalism. (Source: Web Search Results)

    2011-01-01

  • Joined Bloomberg News as a journalist. (Source: Web Search Results)

    2011-01-01

  • Published her non-fiction book "No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram" with Simon & Schuster. (Source: Wikipedia)

    2020-01-01

  • Her book "No Filter" won the Financial Times/McKinsey 2020 Business Book of the Year Award. (Source: Web Search Results)

    2020-12-01

  • As CFO of OpenAI, she mentioned a desire for a "Federal backstop for AI" in the Wall Street Journal. (Source: Related Documents)

    XXXX-XX-XX

  • Retracted her comment about a "Federal backstop for AI" after it was widely perceived as a bailout request to the US Government. (Source: Related Documents)

    XXXX-XX-XX

No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram

No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram is a non-fiction book written by American journalist and author Sarah Frier. Published by Simon & Schuster in 2020, the book presents an in-depth look into the history and inner workings of the popular social media platform, Instagram.

Web Search Results
  • Sarah Friar - Wikipedia

    Sarah Jane FriarOBE (born 24 December 1972( is an Irish-American business executive who is the chief financial officer of OpenAI since June 2024.( She was the chief executive officer of American technology company Nextdoor from 2018 through 2024,( and was chief financial officer of Block, Inc. (formerly Square, Inc.) between 2012 and 2018.( Early life [edit] [...] | Image 4 Friar in 2018 | | Born | Sarah Jane Friar (1972-12-24) 24 December 1972 (age 52) Sion Mills, County Tyrone, Northern Ireland | | Nationality | American, British, Irish | | Education | St Anne's College, Oxford (MEng) Stanford University (MBA) | | Occupation | Business executive | | Known for | CFO of OpenAI Former CEO of Nextdoor Former CFO of Square, Inc. | | Children | 2 | [...] She was an analyst for McKinsey in South Africa,( a managing director in equity research at Goldman Sachs, and a senior vice president of finance and strategy at Salesforce( before becoming chief financial officer (CFO) at Square in 2012,( and then joining Nextdoor, a hyperlocal social networking service for neighborhoods, as the CEO in 2018. She led the company public through a special-purpose acquisition company in 2021.( Nextdoor announced Friar would step down as CEO in mid-2024.( In June

  • Sarah Frier - Bloomberg

    # Sarah Frier Big Tech Team Leader Sarah Frier is a reporter for Bloomberg News in San Francisco. @sarahfrierRSS Feed Startups Conceivable Raises $50 Million to Bring Robotic IVF Embryo Lab to US Startups Fertility Startup Gameto Raises $44 Million to Test Egg-Freezing Therapy in US Technology Meta Held Deal Talks With Startup Runway in AI Recruiting Push Transportation From Apple to GM, Tariffs to Cost Companies Tens of Billions Technology

  • 'Best Business Book of the Year' for Author Sarah Frier

    Frier is a longtime Bloomberg journalist covering social media from San Francisco who interned with Bloomberg News while a student at UNC-Chapel Hill. She has been with the business news powerhouse since she graduated from Carolina with a degree in media and journalism in 2011. [...] “No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram,” the first book by UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media alumna Sarah Frier, won the Financial Times/McKinsey 2020 Business Book of the Year Award during a live online ceremony from London on Tuesday, Dec. 1. The short list for the £30,000 award included authors Jill Lepore, Daniel Susskind and Reed Hastings. “Such good company for the young Sarah Frier, and such a good read. Buy this book!” Dean Susan King tweeted as the news broke. [...] McKinsey Global Managing Partner Kevin Sneader presented Frier with today’s award online. He described “No Filter” as “a compelling saga about how this start-up phenomenon deeply embedded itself into the global cultural Zeitgeist.” Frier celebrated the win with her husband (a fellow Carolina graduate) and their puppy Marlowe, who has his own Instagram account: @marlowethebeagle.

  • Sarah Friar - Speaker Bio - Leading The Recovery Summit 2.0

    Before her tenure at Square, Sarah served as Senior Vice President of Finance & Strategy at Salesforce. Sarah also held executive roles at Goldman Sachs, as well as leadership positions at McKinsey in both London and South Africa. Sarah sits on the boards of Walmart and Slack. Sarah is a Fellow of the inaugural class of the Finance Leaders Fellowship Program, a member of the Aspen Global Leadership Network, and co-founder of Ladies Who Launch, a network that mentors and inspires women [...] The technical storage or access is required to create user profiles to send advertising, or to track the user on a website or across several websites for similar marketing purposes. Manage options Manage services Manage {vendor\_count} vendors Read more about these purposes View preferences Cookie Policy Privacy Policy {title} ### Sarah Friar ##### CEO of Nextdoor Sarah Friar is Chief Executive Officer of Nextdoor, the world’s largest private social network for neighborhoods. [...] Prior to Nextdoor, Sarah served as Chief Financial Officer at Square. Under Sarah’s leadership, the company launched its initial public offering in 2015 and added $30Bn in market cap.

  • Sarah Frier - Bloomberg LP - LinkedIn

    I'm also the author of No Filter: The Inside Story of Instagram, the first book to explain the product's growth and cultural impact, based on interviews with current and former employees and executives, as well as celebrities and influencers<br><br> The book is available here<br><br> It's the winner of the 2020 Financial Times/McKinsey Business Book of the Year award! [...] # Sarah Frier Big Tech Team Leader at Bloomberg, Author of No Filter San Francisco, None 500 connections, 4760 followers [...] ### News Intern The Sacramento Bee May 2009 - August 2009 None None ### Correspondent Bay Area News Group May 2008 - August 2008 None Summer internship ### Assistant City Editor Daily Tar Heel February 2008 - May 2008 None None ## Education ### University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill NoneBusiness journalism 2007 - 2011 None ## Publications N/A ## Honors & Awards 1st Place, Business/Technology Story San Francisco Press Club • January