Apple's Top AI Executive Leaves for Meta Amid AI Talent Race

Apple's top AI executive, Ruoming Pang, is leaving the company to join Meta Platforms' new superintelligence team for a multi-million dollar pay package. Pang managed Apple's AI models team and will join Meta's reorganized AI efforts under Meta Superintelligence Labs, headed by Alexandr Wang, former CEO of data labeling startup Scale AI.

Apple Inc. has announced that Ruoming Pang, its top executive overseeing artificial intelligence (AI) models, is leaving the company to join Meta Platforms Inc.'s new superintelligence team. Pang, who managed Apple's AI models team, will join Meta's reorganized AI efforts under Meta Superintelligence Labs, headed by Alexandr Wang, former CEO of data labeling startup Scale AI [1][2].

Pang's departure follows a series of high-profile hires by Meta, including leaders from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Safe Superintelligence. These moves are part of Meta's aggressive push to assemble a dream team of AI talent to lead its new AI superintelligence unit. Meta's stock price has responded positively to these developments, reaching a new all-time high of $738.09 on Monday, July 7, 2025 [4].

Pang's team at Apple had been central to the company's plans for a next-gen Siri experience, but Apple has reportedly considered using third-party AI models to power its forthcoming AI-enabled Siri upgrade. Pang's departure may signal the start of a string of exits from Apple's AI unit, with several engineers reportedly planning to leave for Meta or elsewhere [2][3].

Meta's hiring spree continues, with the company announcing the hiring of Yuanzhi Li from OpenAI and Anton Bakhtin from Anthropic PBC. This aggressive talent acquisition strategy is part of Meta's broader AI investment strategy, which includes a $14.3 billion investment in Scale AI and a capital expenditure guidance of $64–72 billion for 2025 [4].

Despite the positive market response to Meta's AI expansion, the company faces significant regulatory challenges. The European Union has imposed a €200 million fine for Digital Markets Act violations, and the Federal Trade Commission's antitrust trial presents a potential threat to Meta's business structure [4].

References:
[1] https://techcrunch.com/2025/07/07/meta-reportedly-recruits-apples-head-of-ai-models/
[2] https://9to5mac.com/2025/07/07/meta-just-hired-apples-head-of-foundation-models/
[3] https://news.bloomberglaw.com/artificial-intelligence/apple-loses-top-ai-models-executive-to-metas-hiring-spree-1
[4] https://www.financemagnates.com/trending/why-is-meta-stock-price-going-up-today-zuckerbergs-meta-shares-hit-new-all-time-high-up-26-in-2025/