Apple's AI Ambitions Falter as Meta Poaches Key Researchers

Apple just lost another AI researcher as it weighs shift to third-party models - 9to5Mac

First, Meta hired away Apple's head of foundation models. Then, two important colleagues followed their former boss to Meta. Now today, a fourth foundation models staff member has reportedly gone to Meta's new 'Superintelligence' team too. Mark Gurman writes at Bloomberg: Bowen Zhang, a key multimodal AI researcher at Apple, left the company on Friday and is set to join Meta's recently formed superintelligence team, according to people familiar with the matter. Zhang was part of the Apple foundation models group, or AFM, which built the core technology behind the company's AI platform. Gurman adds that Apple has "been marginally increasing the pay of its AFM staffers," but the new pay levels still "pale in comparison with those of rivals." The report also indicates Apple is still considering a bit pivot to using third-party LLMs to power its forthcoming Siri upgrades, and potentially other Apple Intelligence features. In recent months, Apple started considering a move away from AFM models for a new version of its Siri voice assistant. The work includes powering Siri with OpenAI's ChatGPT or Anthropic PBC's Claude models. The company is simultaneously working on a competing version based on new AFM models. While a final decision hasn't been made, Apple's exploration of outside options has triggered unease within AFM. From the outside looking in, it seems like a tumultuous time for Apple's AI efforts. AI is clearly key to the company's long-term success, but the inability to retain top talent will no doubt take a toll on Apple's ability to catch up with competitors. One thing seems clear: something needs to change or departures like these will become an even more common story in time. How do you think Apple can stop its AI staff departures? Let us know in the comments.

Apple Continues Losing AI Experts to Meta

A fourth Apple artificial intelligence expert has left the company to join Meta, reports Bloomberg. Bowen Zhang, who was on Apple's foundation models team, is the latest employee to abandon Apple for Meta. The leader of Apple's foundation models group, Ruoming Pang, was one of the first Apple AI researchers to join Meta. Since then, several employees who worked under him have also left for Meta. Meta is aggressively hiring for its Superintelligence Labs, an AI division that's building advanced AI systems capable of performing at or beyond human-level intelligence. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has been offering AI engineers massive compensation packages to lure them from other companies, and Pang reportedly received over $200 million. Pay from Meta reportedly includes a high base salary, a signing bonus, and stock awards, and the money offered to Pang exceeds the compensation of almost all Apple employees except for executives. Presumably, the other AI engineers that left Apple have also received offers that Apple isn't willing to match. Last month, OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said that Meta had been offering signing bonuses as high as $100 million. Meta has hired engineers and AI experts from Apple, OpenAI, and Anthropic. Bloomberg says Apple is "marginally increasing" the pay of its foundation models team, but is not paying at the level that Meta is. With Apple losing key employees to Meta, it could continue to struggle to catch up in the AI race. Competitors like Google and Samsung have much more advanced AI features already, and this year, Apple was forced to delay promised Apple Intelligence Siri features until 2026. Apple has been restructuring its AI teams, with AI efforts now overseen by Apple software chief Craig Federighi and Mike Rockwell, who led Apple Vision Pro development. Rumors suggest that Apple is considering using technology from Anthropic or OpenAI for future AI features, including an LLM version of Siri, rather than its own models. Apple's discussions to rely on third-party AI technology have reportedly led to falling morale on the foundation models team that is now losing employees to Meta. Multiple engineers are reportedly actively interviewing for jobs at other AI companies, while Apple executives are aiming to reassure team members that it remains committed to in-house AI development.

Apple's AI team is losing another key staff to Meta

Meta has hired away four Apple AI staff members over the past month. Apple's foundation models (AFM) team has experienced a loss of employees recently, amid considerations of a significant change in its artificial intelligence strategy. The situation involves departures of key personnel to Meta, along with Apple's evaluation of integrating third-party large language models (LLMs) into its upcoming Siri updates. Meta has hired away four Apple AI staff members over the past month. This series of departures began with Meta's poaching of Apple's head of foundation models. Adding to this initial loss, two significant colleagues of the former head of foundation models followed, also joining Meta. The trend continued with a fourth member of the foundation models team reportedly transitioning to Meta's new 'Superintelligence' team. Bowen Zhang, a notable multimodal AI researcher at Apple, departed the company on Friday. Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported this development, noting that Zhang is slated to join Meta's newly established superintelligence team. Gurman stated, "Bowen Zhang, a key multimodal AI researcher at Apple, left the company on Friday and is set to join Meta's recently formed superintelligence team, according to people familiar with the matter. Zhang was part of the Apple foundation models group, or AFM, which built the core technology behind the company's AI platform." Zhang's expertise was centered within Apple's AFM group, which plays a crucial role in developing the fundamental technology supporting Apple's AI platform. Apple's AI head jumps ship to Meta While Apple has been making adjustments to compensate its AFM staff, these efforts have not been entirely successful. Gurman noted Apple has "been marginally increasing the pay of its AFM staffers," however, the updated compensation "pale in comparison with those of rivals." This difference in pay scales may be contributing to the difficulty in retaining talent within the AFM team. Apple is currently exploring the possibility of utilizing third-party LLMs to enhance its forthcoming Siri updates and other potential Apple Intelligence features. The company has begun considering alternatives to AFM models for the next iteration of its Siri voice assistant. This exploration includes the potential integration of OpenAI's ChatGPT or Anthropic PBC's Claude models into Siri's functionality. Simultaneously, Apple is developing a competing version of Siri that relies on its own new AFM models. The company has not yet made a final decision regarding which approach to implement. This uncertainty surrounding the future direction of Siri's development has reportedly created unease within the AFM team.

Apple loses fourth AI researcher in a month to Meta's Superintelligence team

Apple has lost its fourth artificial intelligence researcher in a month to Meta Platforms, marking the latest setback to the iPhone maker's AI efforts. Bowen Zhang, a key multimodal AI researcher at Apple, left the company on Friday and is set to join Meta's recently formed superintelligence team, according to people familiar with the matter. Zhang was part of the Apple foundation models group, or AFM, which built the core technology behind the company's AI platform. Meta previously lured away the leader of the team, Ruoming Pang, with a compensation package valued at more than $200 million, it was reported. Two other researchers from that group -- Tom Gunter and Mark Lee -- also recently joined Meta. AFM is made up of several dozen engineers and researchers across Cupertino, California, and New York.

Apple AI Hit as Meta Lures Siri Team with Multimodal Vision

As Meta Attracts Key Siri Talent, Apple AI Struggles to Deliver Intelligence Features Ahead of iPhone 17 Launch Apple's AI journey just hit a significant speed bump. Four key engineers from its Foundation Models team have left for Meta's Superintelligence Lab. The exits include Ruoming Pang, who built the Foundation Models group, and key early contributors Tom Gunter, Mark Lee, and Bowen Zhang. These engineers set essential technical directions about the internal architecture of , particularly for Siri and Apple Intelligence features. Their sudden departure has now strained the company's vision of in-house AI just as it is preparing to launch the . Internally, this movement has raised eyebrows, especially since some team members reportedly requested more transparency and faster progress but received silence.

Apple reportedly lost another AI researcher to Meta By Investing.com

Investing.com -- Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL). has lost another key artificial intelligence researcher to Meta Platforms (NASDAQ:META) on Friday, when Bowen Zhang departed to join Meta's newly formed superintelligence team, according to a Bloomberg report on Tuesday. Zhang worked on multimodal AI in Apple's foundation models group (AFM). He is the fourth researcher from Apple's AFM team to leave for Meta in recent weeks. The exodus began with team leader Ruoming Pang, who was reportedly attracted by a compensation package worth over $200 million. Two other researchers, Tom Gunter and Mark Lee, have also recently moved to Meta. The AFM group, which developed the core technology for Apple's AI platform, consists of several dozen engineers and researchers working across locations in Cupertino, California, and New York. In response to competitive recruitment from Meta and other companies, Apple has slightly increased compensation for its AFM team members, regardless of whether they've indicated plans to leave, the report added. Apple's compensation remains significantly lower than what competitors are offering.

Meta strengthens its superintelligence team with another Apple researcher

Zhang is joining Meta's recently formed superintelligence team. Apple has reportedly lost another top AI researcher to Meta, making it the fourth such departure in just one month. These repeated exits are likely to put pressure on Apple's efforts to keep up in the competitive AI race. According to Bloomberg, the latest to leave is Bowen Zhang, a key multimodal AI researcher at Apple. Zhang is joining Meta's recently formed superintelligence team. Zhang was part of the Apple foundation models group (AFM). This group is responsible for developing the core technology behind the tech giant's AI platform. Before Zhang, three other researchers from the same team also left Apple for Meta. This includes Ruoming Pang, who was leading the AFM team and was reportedly offered a $200 million compensation package. The other two were Tom Gunter and Mark Lee. Also read: Is this iPhone 17 Pro? Man spotted using the phone in public before launch These exits have shaken the AFM team, which plays an important role in Apple's overall AI strategy. With Pang gone, the team's roadmap has become unclear, and more engineers are said to be actively searching for jobs elsewhere. Another member, Floris Weers, recently left for a startup. Apple is said to be exploring the use of third-party AI models like OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude for a new version of Siri. At the same time, the company is also working on a competing version based on new AFM models, according to the report. This has caused uncertainty within the team. Also read: Elon Musk's Starlink faces user limit in India, can have only 20 lakh connections With Meta aggressively hiring and offering huge salaries, and Apple struggling to retain its AI talent, the future of Apple's in-house AI team is becoming more uncertain.