Apple has lost four more senior artificial intelligence researchers within days, dealing a fresh setback to its already struggling AI strategy. According to reports, one researcher has joined Meta while three others from Apple’s core Foundation Models team have moved to leading AI organisations. Zhang now heads projects at Meta’s Robotics Studio, John Peebles and Nan Du have joined OpenAI, and Zhao Meng has taken up a role at Anthropic.
These exits add to a wave of departures from the Foundation Models team, which has already seen around 10 researchers leave in recent weeks. The most high-profile among them was team leader Ruoming Pang, who moved to Meta in a deal reportedly valued at 200 million dollars.
Industry reports suggest that behind these departures lies growing dysfunction within Apple’s AI plans. Executives are said to be debating whether to stop developing in-house models altogether and instead outsource future Siri capabilities to companies such as OpenAI or Anthropic. The lukewarm reception of Apple Intelligence features has further affected morale, with several remaining researchers now exploring opportunities with competitors.
While Apple has made counter-offers to retain staff, they remain modest compared to Meta’s aggressive compensation packages, leaving the company exposed to continued losses of talent.
The timing of this talent drain poses additional challenges for Apple’s robotics ambitions. The company has been working on tabletop devices with moving screens and robotic arms aimed at retail use. However, these projects now face uncertainty following Zhang’s departure, especially as his automation team had already lost key staff, including Mario Srouji, who earlier joined Archer Aviation.
Apple’s deepening AI talent crisis underscores the growing competition in the field, with rivals aggressively scaling teams to gain an edge in the global race for AI leadership.
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