Apple has recently made significant changes in its artificial intelligence leadership, indicating a fresh strategy amid ongoing challenges.
John Giannandrea, who led Apple’s AI since 2018, will retire next spring and be succeeded by Amar Subramanya, an AI expert who has previously worked at Microsoft and Google’s DeepMind. Giannandrea will stay on as an advisor during the transition.
These changes come after criticism that Apple’s AI efforts, including its 2024-launched Apple Intelligence suite, have lagged behind competitors. Notably, the upgrade to Siri has been delayed until 2026, underlining development challenges.
Subramanya will report to software chief Craig Federighi, whom CEO Tim Cook credited for being “instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to bring a more personalised Siri to users next year.”
Apple’s approach contrasts with that of rivals like Microsoft and Google by favouring on-device AI processing rather than large-scale cloud infrastructure. Despite this, Apple is significantly increasing its AI investment and has partnered with OpenAI to embed ChatGPT into its products.
The company has also restructured teams, with Mike Rockwell, Vision Pro headset lead, now overseeing Siri’s development to bring new dynamism to AI product delivery. The sale of Jony Ive’s startup to OpenAI for $6.4 billion also points towards Apple’s growing focus on AI-driven hardware, with prototypes expected to appear within two years.