TLDRs;
- Robby Walker, Apple’s former Siri chief, will leave next month, deepening the company’s ongoing AI leadership crisis.
- Walker’s reduced role and team cuts suggest internal restructuring pushed him to resign from Apple’s AI division.
- His exit adds to a wave of AI talent losses, with former colleagues Pang and Chu recently joining Meta.
- Apple stock is down 7% in 2025, as investors question its AI delays and ability to compete with OpenAI.
Robby Walker, a longtime leader in Apple’s artificial intelligence unit and former head of the Siri voice assistant team, is set to depart the company next month.
His exit marks yet another high-profile loss for Apple’s AI division, which has already seen multiple senior executives defect to rivals in recent months.
Walker, who most recently oversaw Apple’s Answers, Information and Knowledge group, played a key role in shaping the company’s AI strategy beyond voice assistants. He transitioned from leading Siri to spearheading development of an AI-powered web search tool that Apple has been preparing for release in 2026. The project, viewed internally as a potential competitor to AI-driven platforms like ChatGPT and Perplexity AI, is now facing fresh uncertainty following his planned departure.
Siri Oversight Moves to Federighi
As Walker’s influence diminished, oversight of Siri shifted to Apple’s senior software chief, Craig Federighi, earlier this year.
This change followed internal frustrations and delays with promised updates to the voice assistant. Sources indicate that Walker’s role had been scaled back in recent months, with his team and responsibilities cut significantly. This restructuring appears to have accelerated his decision to leave, according to people familiar with the matter.
Apple has so far declined to comment on Walker’s resignation or the impact it may have on its AI roadmap.
AI Talent Exodus Raises Concerns
Walker’s resignation is not an isolated event. In recent months, Apple has seen multiple senior AI researchers leave, including Ruoming Pang and Frank Chu, both of whom have since joined Meta Platforms.
The series of exits underscores a broader challenge in retaining top talent at a time when competition for AI expertise is at an all-time high.
Industry data reflects the pressure: tech companies face an employee turnover rate of 13.2%, with LinkedIn reporting Apple’s median tenure at just two years. Nearly half of tech professionals surveyed say they plan to change jobs within a year, citing limited career growth opportunities as a key factor. For Apple, these trends have manifested in an AI division that is losing ground to competitors aggressively recruiting its experts.
Investor Pressure Mounts on Apple
The wave of executive departures comes as Apple faces mounting scrutiny from investors over its delayed AI strategy. In 2025 alone, the company’s stock has dropped almost 7%, with analysts pointing to its struggles in AI as a contributing factor.
While Apple has historically taken a cautious approach to emerging technologies, the current pace of AI development leaves little room for hesitation.
The timing of Walker’s exit is particularly sensitive. His ongoing work on Apple’s in-house search product was seen as central to the company’s pivot into the AI-driven internet economy. Without his leadership, questions remain about whether Apple can keep pace with nimble competitors like Perplexity and OpenAI, both of which are advancing rapidly.
Despite these challenges, Apple continues to invest heavily in AI across its ecosystem, from iOS features to future hardware integrations. Still, the departure of a figure as central as Walker highlights the company’s difficulty balancing long-term innovation with short-term organizational stability.
