TLDRs;
- Ke Yang, Apple’s AI search leader, exits to join Meta amid internal reshuffling.
- Yang’s departure threatens Apple’s Siri overhaul, planned for early 2026.
- Apple’s AI division faces major talent losses to competitors like Meta and OpenAI.
- Meta strengthens its AI ranks, forming a new “Superintelligence Labs” division.
Apple’s artificial intelligence (AI) division is facing another major shake-up as Ke Yang, the executive overseeing its AI-driven web search initiative, has resigned to join Meta Platforms.
The move marks one of the most high-profile departures in Apple’s AI ranks this year and signals mounting challenges for the iPhone maker as it struggles to retain top talent amid intensifying competition in generative AI.
Yang had recently been appointed head of Apple’s Answers, Knowledge, and Information (AKI) group, a unit responsible for transforming Siri into a smarter, more conversational digital assistant. His team was working on advanced search features that allow Siri to retrieve contextual, web-based information, a leap intended to bring the assistant closer to ChatGPT-like performance.
However, just months before Apple’s planned Siri revamp in March 2026, Yang’s exit throws uncertainty over the company’s AI roadmap. Sources close to the matter suggest that Yang will join Meta’s expanding AI division, which has been aggressively hiring from Apple’s ranks throughout 2025.
Siri Revamp Faces Fresh Setbacks
Apple’s upcoming Siri overhaul is part of its broader push to compete with OpenAI, Google, and emerging players like Perplexity AI in the next wave of AI-powered search.
The new iteration of Siri was set to include features delayed from earlier in 2025, including the ability to process personal context and perform multi-step tasks, capabilities that would have placed Siri closer to OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Gemini assistants.
Yang’s departure now threatens to delay those updates, as the AKI team was considered essential to Apple’s ability to integrate real-time search and knowledge retrieval into Siri’s core. The group will now be reassigned under Benoit Dupin, Apple’s vice president overseeing machine learning-related cloud infrastructure.
Insiders say the transition could slow progress, especially since the AKI unit had been directly reporting to John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president of AI and machine learning. Giannandrea himself is rumored to be on Apple’s radar for replacement, as the company faces mounting internal turnover and strategic pressure.
Meta’s AI Momentum Builds
Meta, meanwhile, appears to be on a talent acquisition spree. In recent months, it has recruited several key AI scientists and engineers from Apple’s Foundation Models team, including its founder Ruoming Pang, to build a new internal division called Superintelligence Labs.
This group is expected to spearhead Meta’s next generation of AI capabilities, integrating large language models and multimodal systems into products like Meta AI, Instagram, and WhatsApp. With Yang’s arrival, Meta gains a leader with deep experience in AI search and knowledge graph systems, expertise that could prove vital as the company seeks to compete with OpenAI and Google in both consumer and enterprise AI applications.
Apple’s loss, therefore, is clearly Meta’s gain. For Apple, which has traditionally favored secrecy and vertical control over its AI research, these departures may indicate a cultural misalignment as researchers increasingly seek open collaboration and rapid innovation cycles.
Apple’s AI Troubles Deepen
Ke Yang’s exit adds to a growing list of departures from Apple’s AI organization. In recent months, senior researchers Chong Wang, Sam Wiseman, and Frank Chu have also left, many for rival firms building cutting-edge generative AI systems.
Industry observers say the ongoing exodus underscores Apple’s struggle to define a clear AI vision beyond hardware integration. While Apple has emphasized on-device AI and privacy-first computing, its closed ecosystem and cautious rollout pace may be hindering progress against faster-moving rivals.
For now, Apple’s immediate focus will be on stabilizing its internal teams and keeping the Siri redesign on schedule. Whether that will be enough to regain momentum in the increasingly competitive AI race remains uncertain.
