Apple loses fourth AI expert to Meta within a month
What's the story
Apple has suffered another blow to its artificial intelligence (AI) ambitions, with the departure of Bowen Zhang, a key multimodal AI researcher. Zhang was part of Apple's foundation models group (AFM), which developed the core technology for its AI platform. He is now set to join Meta's newly formed superintelligence team. Zhang is the fourth AI heavyweight to defect from Apple to Meta in just one month, reflecting the escalating battle among global tech giants for elite talent.
Talent acquisition
Meta had previously poached Ruoming Pang, the leader of AFM
Meta had previously poached Ruoming Pang, the leader of AFM, with a compensation package worth over $200 million. Along with Zhang, two other researchers from the same group—Tom Gunter and Mark Lee—have also recently joined Meta. The AFM team comprises several dozen engineers and researchers based in Cupertino, California, and New York. In response to job offers from Meta and other rivals, Apple has been raising compensation for its AFM team members—even for those who haven't indicated plans to leave.
Impact
AFM team is critical to Apple's broader AI strategy
The AFM team plays a central role in Apple's overall AI strategy, forming the backbone of the Apple Intelligence platform introduced last year. However, Apple is now weighing a potential shift toward increased reliance on third-party AI models. The AFM group is currently led by Zhifeng Chen and reports to Daphne Luong, who heads Apple's AI research division. Luong, in turn, reports to John Giannandrea, the company's senior vice president of AI.