Ruoming Pang, Apple’s head of AI models, is reportedly departing the company to join Meta, according to a Monday report by Bloomberg. This recruitment marks the latest addition of a high-ranking artificial intelligence executive to Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s new AI superintelligence unit.
Pang previously led Apple’s internal team responsible for training the AI foundation models. These models form the basis for Apple Intelligence and various other on-device AI functionalities within Apple products. While at Apple, the company’s AI models have not achieved the same level of capability as offerings from OpenAI, Anthropic, or even Meta. Apple has even considered integrating third-party AI models to enhance its upcoming AI-enabled Siri upgrade.
Sources cited by Bloomberg indicate that Pang’s departure might signal further exits from Apple’s AI unit. Despite the challenges, Pang is expected to contribute expertise in designing small, on-device AI models to Meta. His arrival follows Meta’s recent recruitment of talent from other prominent AI organizations, including leaders from Google DeepMind, OpenAI, and Safe Superintelligence.
