Apple loses top AI leader Ke Yang to Meta amid intensifying talent war

Apple has lost another key member from its artificial intelligence (AI) division as Ke Yang, recently appointed to lead the company’s ChatGPT-style web search initiative, departs to join Mark Zuckerberg-owned Meta.

As reported by Bloomberg, Yang was chosen a few weeks ago to head Apple’s Answers, Knowledge, and Information (AKI) team, the group behind a major overhaul of Siri that is expected to be unveiled in March next year.

Yang exit marks another significant setback for the Cupertino-based tech giant as competition for AI expertise heats up across Silicon Valley.

According to his LinkedIn profile, Yang joined Apple in 2019 and played an important role in advancing the company’s conversational AI and machine learning capabilities.

The move follows a series of high-profile departures from Apple’s AI unit, signaling growing challenges for the iPhone maker as it tries to catch up with rivals in generative AI.

Notably, Meta has been aggressively recruiting AI researchers and engineers to strengthen its position in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.

The tech giant has already hired several top Apple executives, including Robby Walker and Ruoming Pang, both of whom were involved in Siri’s early development.

His departure also underscores the escalating “AI talent war” among major tech companies such as Meta, Apple, OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic, all competing to lead the next wave of breakthroughs in AI.