Apple announced Monday that its artificial intelligence chief, John Giannandrea, is stepping down, the biggest change in the company’s AI leadership since the launch of Apple Intelligence in 2024.
Giannandrea, who joined Apple in 2018 and held the position of Senior Vice President, will remain an advisor until his retirement in the spring of next year.
He will be replaced by Amar Subramanya, an AI researcher who has led key projects at Microsoft and before that at Google’s DeepMind unit.
Subramanya’s appointment comes as Apple continues to face criticism for falling behind in the AI race compared to rivals such as Microsoft, Google and OpenAI. Here’s a look at the industry that has surged since ChatGPT’s debut in 2022.
While Apple Intelligence was introduced last year as a bid to join the ranks of global AI leaders, the technology has yet to receive strong feedback from users. Among the major setbacks is the delay of a new, more advanced version of Siri to 2026, signaling an internal development challenge.
Subramanya will take on the role of Vice President of AI and report directly to Chief Software Officer Craig Federighi, who Tim Cook said has been instrumental in shaping Apple’s AI direction.
Subramanya’s team will focus on basic model development, AI research and security. Meanwhile, several other teams previously under Giannandrea will be transferred to COO Sabih Khan and head of services Eddy Cue.
Apple has previously said it is increasing its AI spending, and will work with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its product line.
Apple’s approach, however, is different, as it has chosen to run most of its AI processing directly on devices, rather than through large-scale cloud data centers like its competitors.
While Apple still has a strong ecosystem and loyal users, analysts warn that a new wave of AI-powered hardware will test Apple’s position in the tech market.
