Apple loses key AI leader to Meta

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Apple is nursing a fresh wound this week after losing one of its most crucial AI leaders to Meta. Ruoming Pang, the executive who oversaw Apple Intelligence, has jumped ship to join Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs.

Pang wasn’t just any Apple employee. He led a 100-strong army of engineers crafting the language models that make your iPhone summarise texts, generate those Genmoji, and prioritise your notifications. Now he’s traded the Apple Park spaceship for Meta’s Menlo Park headquarters, becoming the latest big name to answer Mark Zuckerberg’s call.

The leading exec’s departure is a gut punch to a company that’s been scrambling to prove it can play in the AI big leagues. The timing couldn’t be worse, either.

Just last month, Pang’s right-hand man, Tom Gunter, had already packed his bags and left. Pang’s departure was reported by Bloomberg and the outlet’s sources suggest Apple is losing the talent it desperately needs.

Apple spent years building up its AI chops, focusing on that privacy-first approach that’s supposed to be its secret sauce. However, many believe that focus has led to the company falling behind in AI with many Apple Intelligence features yet to roll out. The haemorrhaging of talent isn’t going to help with efforts to catch up.


Event Title: International Conference on Strategic Management and Business Strategy





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