Apple’s newly-appointed leader of ChatGPT-style AI search set to depart for Meta

An Apple AI executive, freshly appointed just weeks ago to lead the Answers, Knowledge and Information (AKI) team, has abruptly exited to join Meta, underscoring the fierce and high-stakes battle for top AI talent among tech giants.

Ke Yang, a Carnegie Mellon University grad, is a key figure in the tech industry, known for his recent leadership role at Apple Inc. in the development of AI-driven web search capabilities.

His work primarily focused on leading a team to enhance the Siri voice assistant to be more competitive and sophisticated by integrating advanced artificial intelligence features similar to those found in ChatGPT.

That team is central to a major Siri revamp, part of Apple’s broader effort to revive its struggling AI operations, Bloomberg reported.

The new version of Siri will also include features delayed from earlier this year, such as the ability to tap into personal data to handle more complex requests.

The AKI group’s mission was to develop new functionalities that allow Siri to pull real-time information from the web, significantly improving its usefulness in answering complex queries.

This effort is part of a larger revamp set for launch in March, aimed at reinvigorating Apple's AI efforts which had been facing competitive pressure from rivals like OpenAI, Google’s Gemini, and Perplexity.

Under Yang’s leadership, the new Siri version is designed not only to improve AI interaction but also to incorporate capabilities that had been delayed earlier, such as leveraging personal user data to respond to more nuanced and intricate requests.

This personalised approach represents a critical step forward in making virtual assistants more intuitive and valuable for everyday users.

Ke Yang’s leadership came at a time of transition within Apple’s AI division.

He initially led the search-focused segment of the AKI team before taking over the entire division after the departure of former head Robby Walker.

His role positioned him as a direct report to John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president of AI and machine learning, who oversees the company’s broader AI and machine learning initiatives.

Despite the promising work underway under his guidance, Ke Yang recently decided to leave Apple to join Meta Platforms Inc.

This move reflects a continuation of a series of high-profile departures from Apple’s artificial intelligence division, highlighting ongoing shifts in talent and strategy within the tech giant’s AI ambitions.

The development of the new Siri is a collaborative effort between Apple’s AI and machine learning group (AIML), led by Giannandrea, and the Siri engineering team, which falls under Craig Federighi’s software organisation.

This partnership underscores the significance Apple places on revitalizsing Siri, leveraging both AI advancements and software engineering expertise.

While neither Apple nor Meta have publicly commented on Ke Yang’s departure or new role, his move is seen as a notable moment in the competitive AI landscape, as major companies race to innovate in AI-powered search and virtual assistant technologies.

According to Bloomberg, about a dozen members of Apple’s AI team, internally called Apple Foundation Models, have left the company, including the team’s founder and lead scientist, Ruoming Pang.

Pang, along with several others, has moved to Meta, which is currently assembling a new division known as Superintelligence Labs.

Among those remaining at Apple, many expect additional departures in the coming months. Notably, Sam Wiseman, a New York-based researcher at Apple, left earlier this month to join Reflection AI.

Just last week, one of Apple’s senior AI researchers, Chong Wang, also left for Meta.

Earlier in August, Meta hired Frank Chu, another senior leader from Apple’s AI group who headed search-focused AI teams.

These ongoing exits highlight the turbulence within Apple’s AI division as the company works to catch up with competitors like OpenAI and Google, both of which have made rapid strides in generative AI and AI-powered search technologies.