Apple loses fourth AI expert in 1 month to Meta as AI talent war heats up
Bowen Zhang, a multimodal AI researcher who played a key role in Apple’s foundation models group, has reportedly left Apple for Meta.
- Jul 30, 2025,
- Updated Jul 30, 2025 9:43 AM IST
Apple lost its fourth artificial intelligence (AI) expert in just one month to Meta Platforms, which is a growing sign of internal instability and mounting external competition in the race to develop cutting-edge AI systems.
As first reported by Bloomberg, the latest departure is Bowen Zhang, a multimodal AI researcher who played a key role in Apple’s foundation models group, the team behind the core technology powering Apple Intelligence. Zhang left Apple on 25 July and is set to join Meta’s Superintelligence team, according to people familiar with the matter.
His exit follows that of Ruoming Pang, the former head of Apple’s foundation models group, who was among the first to be poached by Meta. Pang reportedly received a compensation package worth over $200 million, including a high base salary, signing bonus, and stock awards, far exceeding the pay of most Apple employees, aside from top executives.
Two other engineers from the same group, Tom Gunter and Mark Lee, have also recently made the switch to Meta. In total, four researchers from Apple's AI team have now joined Meta, which is aggressively hiring to build its new AI division focused on superintelligence, systems capable of performing at or beyond human-level intelligence.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly offering AI engineers massive financial incentives, with signing bonuses as high as $100 million. Meta has been poaching talent not only from Apple but also from OpenAI and Anthropic, Bloomberg noted.
The wave of departures has thrown Apple’s foundation models team into disarray. Pang had played a central role in setting the team’s roadmap and research direction, and his absence has left the group’s future uncertain. Morale within the team has reportedly declined, with some engineers actively interviewing for roles at rival AI companies.
While Apple has marginally increased pay for its AI researchers, it has not matched the lucrative offers being made by Meta. Meanwhile, the company is now considering incorporating third-party models, potentially from OpenAI or Anthropic, into its products, rather than relying solely on internally developed technology.
This shift in strategy comes amid broader restructuring efforts, with Apple’s AI work now overseen by software chief Craig Federighi and Vision Pro lead Mike Rockwell. However, with competitors like Google and Samsung already rolling out more advanced AI features, and Apple’s own Siri upgrades delayed until 2026, the company faces mounting pressure to maintain relevance in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
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Apple lost its fourth artificial intelligence (AI) expert in just one month to Meta Platforms, which is a growing sign of internal instability and mounting external competition in the race to develop cutting-edge AI systems.
As first reported by Bloomberg, the latest departure is Bowen Zhang, a multimodal AI researcher who played a key role in Apple’s foundation models group, the team behind the core technology powering Apple Intelligence. Zhang left Apple on 25 July and is set to join Meta’s Superintelligence team, according to people familiar with the matter.
His exit follows that of Ruoming Pang, the former head of Apple’s foundation models group, who was among the first to be poached by Meta. Pang reportedly received a compensation package worth over $200 million, including a high base salary, signing bonus, and stock awards, far exceeding the pay of most Apple employees, aside from top executives.
Two other engineers from the same group, Tom Gunter and Mark Lee, have also recently made the switch to Meta. In total, four researchers from Apple's AI team have now joined Meta, which is aggressively hiring to build its new AI division focused on superintelligence, systems capable of performing at or beyond human-level intelligence.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg is reportedly offering AI engineers massive financial incentives, with signing bonuses as high as $100 million. Meta has been poaching talent not only from Apple but also from OpenAI and Anthropic, Bloomberg noted.
The wave of departures has thrown Apple’s foundation models team into disarray. Pang had played a central role in setting the team’s roadmap and research direction, and his absence has left the group’s future uncertain. Morale within the team has reportedly declined, with some engineers actively interviewing for roles at rival AI companies.
While Apple has marginally increased pay for its AI researchers, it has not matched the lucrative offers being made by Meta. Meanwhile, the company is now considering incorporating third-party models, potentially from OpenAI or Anthropic, into its products, rather than relying solely on internally developed technology.
This shift in strategy comes amid broader restructuring efforts, with Apple’s AI work now overseen by software chief Craig Federighi and Vision Pro lead Mike Rockwell. However, with competitors like Google and Samsung already rolling out more advanced AI features, and Apple’s own Siri upgrades delayed until 2026, the company faces mounting pressure to maintain relevance in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.
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