Ruoming Pang, who served as Apple’s head of AI models, is leaving the tech giant to join Meta, as reported by Bloomberg on Monday. This move represents another strategic hire by Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is assembling a team to spearhead the company’s new AI superintelligence division.
At Apple, Pang led the internal team responsible for developing AI foundation models that support Apple Intelligence and various on-device AI functionalities. However, Apple’s AI initiatives have not achieved the same level of success as those of competitors like OpenAI, Anthropic, and even Meta. There are indications that Apple is considering utilizing third-party AI models for the anticipated upgrade of its Siri feature due to its ongoing challenges.
Insiders informed Bloomberg that Pang’s transition might signal the beginning of a broader trend of departures from Apple’s beleaguered AI division.
Pang’s expertise in crafting compact, on-device AI models could be a valuable asset for Meta, complementing a growing roster of talent that Zuckerberg has recruited in recent months, including prominent figures from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Safe Superintelligence.
