Meta has strengthened its AI research team by hiring Mark Lee and Tom Gunter, both former members of Apple’s Foundation Models group, shortly after recruiting Ruoming Pang.
According to a report from Bloomberg, Mark Lee, who was the first hire of Ruoming Pang at Apple, and Tom Gunter, a distinguished engineer and senior member of the group, have joined Meta’s Superintelligence Labs. Lee has already commenced his role, while Gunter departed from Apple last month after briefly working at another AI startup.
Pang, previously the head of large language models at Apple, reportedly joined Meta with a compensation package exceeding $200 million. His departure has raised speculation about other senior members of Apple’s AI team potentially leaving as well.
Meta’s CEO Mark Zuckerberg has emphasized that AI is the company’s primary focus, highlighting the aggressive recruitment strategy implemented by the firm. This strategy has targeted AI talent from rival organizations, including OpenAI and Google, and now appears to be leveraging Apple’s internal shifts.
As Apple wrestles with decisions regarding in-house models versus third-party solutions for Siri and additional AI functionalities, reports indicate that morale among Apple’s AI engineers is declining. This situation arises as employees feel blamed for various recent setbacks. Amid this uncertainty, Meta is positioned to attract frustrated engineers before Apple can address its internal issues.
