Apple’s AI ambitions face growing setbacks as a wave of senior researchers depart for rival companies. The loss of key figures from the foundation models team threatens to weaken the company’s ability to advance Apple Intelligence and enhance capabilities like Siri.
As reported by the Finance Times, the departures are not isolated. Since January 2025, Apple has lost around a dozen AI staff members to Meta, OpenAI, xAI, Cohere, and stealth startups. Among them are Ruoming Pang, head of the foundation models team, who joined Meta with a reported $200 million package, and other core engineers such as Brandon McKinzie and Dian Ang Yap to OpenAI, and Liutong Zhou to Cohere. This talent drain has exacerbated internal concerns about Apple’s direction in AI and its capacity to keep pace with competitors.
At the same time, industry recruiters characterize the situation as a “crisis of confidence” within Apple. Aaron Sines of Razoroo has described the departures as a signal that Apple is “open season” and that elite AI talent has become as strategic an asset as intellectual property.
Attempts to respond are underway. CEO Tim Cook has called the AI effort critical to Apple’s future and pledged substantial investment. He held an all‑hands meeting to rally the team and emphasized that Apple “must” and “will” lead in AI. Reports also indicate Apple has raised compensation for remaining AI staff, though competitors continue to lure talent with far larger packages.
Apple’s identity has long been rooted in meticulous, quality‑centric innovation. But in the fast‑moving AI era, that approach may be too slow. With its foundation models team numbering just 50 to 60 people, even small departures create significant gaps. Delays in rolling out revamped Siri and next gen Apple Intelligence features fuel concerns that the company is falling behind.
Apple now faces a dual challenge: retain remaining AI talent while accelerating development in key AI areas. Without decisive moves on both fronts, the company risks undermining its long-term competitiveness in a world where foundational model expertise is rare and increasingly prized.
