Apple’s Head of AI Models Leaves for Meta
According to a report by Bloomberg on Monday, Apple’s head of AI models, Ruoming Pang, is leaving the company to join Meta. This move comes as Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg continues to recruit top AI executives to lead his new AI superintelligence unit.
Pang was responsible for overseeing Apple’s in-house team that trained the AI foundation models used in Apple Intelligence and other on-device AI features. However, Apple’s AI models have not been as successful as those developed by companies like OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta. In fact, Apple has considered using third-party AI models for its upcoming AI-enabled Siri upgrade.
Sources have indicated that Pang’s departure may be just the beginning of a series of changes within Apple’s AI unit.
Despite Apple’s challenges, Pang’s expertise in designing small, on-device AI models could be a valuable asset to Meta. Zuckerberg has been recruiting top talent from companies like Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Safe Superintelligence in recent months, and Pang’s addition to the team could further enhance Meta’s AI capabilities.
