Ke Yang, the Apple Inc. executive in charge of developing the company’s new AI-powered web search capabilities, is leaving the company to join Meta Platforms Inc., according to a Bloomberg report citing people familiar with the matter. Yang led Apple’s “Answers, Knowledge and Information” group, known internally as AKI — a team central to Apple’s ongoing effort to make its Siri voice assistant more like ChatGPT by integrating real-time information from the web. His departure marks yet another high-profile loss from Apple’s artificial intelligence division, which has already seen roughly a dozen top researchers and engineers exit this year.
The AKI team was working on a major Siri revamp scheduled for release in March, part of Apple’s broader strategy to revive its lagging AI operations. The new Siri is expected to include delayed features such as the ability to draw from a user’s personal data to respond to more complex queries, while the Answers function aims to help Siri provide more dynamic, web-based results. Bloomberg noted that these capabilities are designed to position Apple in closer competition with OpenAI, Perplexity, and Alphabet Inc.’s Google Gemini — all of which have surged ahead in the generative AI and intelligent search markets.
Yang had only recently been promoted to lead the entire AKI division after previously overseeing its search-focused initiatives. He reported directly to John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president of artificial intelligence and machine learning, following the departure of the group’s former head, Robby Walker. Yang’s exit comes as a blow to Apple’s AI and machine learning (AIML) division, where he was considered one of the most influential figures working on the next-generation Siri experience.
Apple’s AI group has faced mounting internal instability throughout the year, with a wave of talent losses to competitors — particularly Meta. Among those who have left are Ruoming Pang, founder and lead scientist of the Apple Foundation Models team, who also joined Meta to work on its newly formed “Superintelligence Labs.” Bloomberg reported that several remaining Apple researchers expect further departures in the coming months as the company continues to struggle to retain top AI talent.
Other notable exits include Sam Wiseman, a New York–based researcher who left for Reflection AI, and Chong Wang, one of Apple’s most senior AI scientists, who also joined Meta last week. In August, Meta hired Frank Chu, another senior Apple executive who oversaw search-related AI projects. The steady outflow of engineers and researchers underscores the competitive pressure facing Apple’s AI organization as it attempts to catch up with rivals like OpenAI and Google, both of which have achieved major breakthroughs in generative AI and conversational search technologies.
With Yang’s departure, Bloomberg reported that Apple’s AKI team will now be placed under Benoit Dupin, a deputy to Giannandrea who manages the company’s machine learning and cloud infrastructure operations. Apple has also reportedly begun interviewing potential external candidates to bolster its AI leadership amid growing uncertainty about the direction of its artificial intelligence strategy.
The loss of yet another senior figure like Yang highlights the deepening challenges within Apple’s AI efforts as the company races to redefine Siri and its broader software ecosystem for an era increasingly dominated by generative technology.
