Meta poaches another crucial member from Apple's AI department
In a significant move, Bowen Zhang, a prominent multimodal AI researcher, has left Apple and joined Meta's recently established superintelligence team. Zhang was a key member of Apple's foundation models group, which plays a crucial role in developing the fundamental technology supporting Apple's AI platform.
Over the past month, Meta has been attracting talent from Apple's AI department, with four staff members reportedly making the switch to Meta. Two significant colleagues of the former head of foundation models have also joined the social media giant.
The departure of Zhang and the arrival of these AI specialists at Meta has created a sense of unease within Apple's AI team, as the company grapples with uncertainty surrounding its future direction. Apple is currently considering integrating third-party large language models into its upcoming Siri updates and other potential Apple Intelligence features.
Simultaneously, Apple is developing a competing version of Siri that relies on its own new AFM models. The company is exploring various options, including the potential integration of OpenAI's ChatGPT or Anthropic PBC's Claude models.
However, Apple has been marginally increasing the pay of its AFM staff, but the updated compensation pales in comparison with those of rivals. This could potentially contribute to the talent drain from the tech giant.
Mark Gurman of Bloomberg reported Zhang's departure from Apple. In the last weeks, no credible information or search results indicate that any company has fired four employees from Apple's AI department or the reasons for such actions.
The exact roles and positions of the new hires at Meta's AI team are not yet clear. The status of Apple's AI head has not been mentioned in the current reports.
As the tech industry continues to evolve, it will be interesting to see how these moves impact the development of AI technology and the competition between Apple and Meta.
