Apple received bad news again

Apple's AI development division continues to lose key personnel. Photo: Reuters .

Ke Yang, head of Apple's search AI team, is leaving the company to join Meta, one of the most notable personnel changes in Apple's artificial intelligence division this year.

According to sources close to the matter, Yang was recently appointed to lead the Answers, Knowledge and Information (AKI) team, which is developing features that will enable Siri to retrieve information from the web, similar to ChatGPT. The project is part of a Siri upgrade, scheduled to launch in March 2026, to boost Apple's struggling AI division.

The AKI team is playing a key role in giving Siri the ability to handle more complex requests, including tapping into users' personal data. These features are expected to help Apple better compete with OpenAI, Perplexity, and Google Gemini in the field of AI-assisted search, which is attracting a lot of attention from users and the technology world.

Before taking over AKI, Yang was in charge of the group's search-related divisions and reported directly to John Giannandrea, Apple's senior vice president of AI and machine learning. He replaces Robby Walker, who led AKI before leaving the company. Representatives for Apple and Meta did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Ke Yang’s departure follows a recent wave of senior staff leaving Apple’s AI division. About 10 members of the Apple Foundation Models team, including lead scientist Ruoming Pang, have left the company to join Meta, which is building a new research group called Superintelligence Labs.

Several Apple AI researchers have also resigned in recent months to move to other companies. Sam Wiseman, a senior researcher, joined Reflection AI, while Chong Wang moved to Meta in early October. Meta also hired Frank Chu, a veteran leader of the iPhone maker's AI development team, in August.

The moves are a sign of strategic uncertainty at Apple, as the company struggles to keep up with the pace of growth in generative AI from OpenAI and Google. According to Bloomberg , Apple is considering looking outside to replace Giannandrea. After Yang leaves, the AKI team will be handed over to Benoit Dupin, Apple's vice president of machine learning infrastructure.

Source: https://znews.vn/apple-lai-mat-nhan-tai-vao-tay-doi-thu-post1594215.html