Meta has made significant moves to bolster its artificial intelligence capabilities by attracting talent from Apple. Following a substantial $200 million pay package to recruit one of Apple’s top AI executives, Meta has now also recruited two of his team members, Mark Lee and Tom Gunter. Both will be joining Meta’s newly established Superintelligence Labs, which is focused on developing advanced AI systems that can operate at or above human intelligence levels.
Before their transition to Meta, Lee and Gunter were integral parts of Apple’s foundation models team, which is responsible for key features like email summaries, Priority Notifications, and the Genmoji. The recent hire of Ruoming Pang, who formerly led Apple’s foundation models team, signaled a significant shift in talent dynamics between the two tech giants. Pang’s departure opened doors for Lee and Gunter, who were considered to be key contributors to the team’s success.
In response to these high-profile exits, Apple has begun offering raises to some engineers to retain talent, although these incentives reportedly still fall short compared to Meta’s lucrative offers. Bloomberg highlights that this brain drain reflects ongoing instability within Apple’s Foundation Models team. As a result, Apple is contemplating a strategy overhaul, which may include leveraging external models from companies like OpenAI or Anthropic to enhance their AI offerings.
Apple is currently balancing the development of its proprietary models with exploring third-party technologies. The company has yet to finalize which approach will underpin its Apple Intelligence features starting next year. This situation indicates a pivotal moment for Apple as it reevaluates its AI strategy amidst rising competition in the field.
Leave a Reply