Apple Inc. has lost its top robotics artificial intelligence researcher to Meta Platforms Inc., part of a wider wave of defections from the iPhone maker’s AI division, Bloomberg reported.
The researcher, Jian Zhang, joined Meta’s Robotics Studio, the company confirmed Tuesday. His departure comes as at least three other Apple employees — John Peebles, Nan Du, and Zhao Meng — leave the firm’s large language model (LLM) team, according to people familiar with the matter.
Those exits, all within the last week, follow a string of high-profile departures from Apple’s Foundation Models team, which played a central role in building the Apple Intelligence platform launched last year. Bloomberg noted the team has lost around 10 members, including its chief, Ruoming Pang, who left for a multiyear deal reportedly worth $200 million.
Peebles and Du are headed to OpenAI, while Zhao is joining Anthropic PBC. Others have defected to Meta, which has attracted Apple staff with massive pay packages.
The losses highlight growing internal uncertainty at Apple, which is now debating whether to lean more heavily on outside partners for generative AI technology instead of developing all of its models in-house, Bloomberg reported. The company has already partnered with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into Apple devices.
Apple shares dipped after Bloomberg broke news of the latest departures, falling as much as 1.5% to $228.77 in New York trading on Tuesday.
Zhang had led a small robotics research team within Apple’s AI and machine learning division, separate from the company’s robotics product development group, which was moved earlier this year to Apple’s hardware engineering arm. His former unit has already faced turnover: one of his lieutenants, Mario Srouji, left in April to head AI at Archer Aviation Inc.
Apple is working on several robotics products, including a tabletop device with a moving screen and a robotic arm for retail and manufacturing, Bloomberg previously reported. Meta, meanwhile, is investing heavily in humanoid robotics through its Reality Labs division, alongside projects like smart glasses and AI-powered operating systems.
The staff departures at Apple are expected to continue, people familiar with the matter told Bloomberg, as dissatisfaction grows over the company’s reliance on external partners and the lukewarm reception to its Apple Intelligence launch.
