Apple's chief AI researcher, Jian Zhang, has officially left the company to join Meta Platforms Inc.'s robotics studio. Jian Zhang's departure highlights Apple's ongoing issue of talent loss in the field of artificial intelligence, especially in the development of robotic technologies.
Meta confirmed Jian Zhang's joining, and this researcher was responsible for the development of automation technologies and AI products at Apple. His team had played a significant role within Apple, but with his departure, Apple's research and development capabilities in this area have been affected. In addition to Jian Zhang, three researchers from Apple's large language model team also chose to leave, further increasing instability within Apple's AI team.
These departing employees include John Peebles, Nan Du, and Zhao Meng, who were all key members of Apple's foundational model team. The team has seen about ten members leave in recent weeks, which is a worrying situation. These departures have seen many people move to competing companies such as OpenAI and Anthropic PBC, indicating that the competition for talent in the industry is intensifying.
It has been reported that Meta attracted these talents by offering highly competitive salaries, with some even receiving multi-million-dollar compensation packages. This attraction has led many outstanding talents who previously worked at Apple to switch to Meta.
At the same time, Meta also faces challenges in attracting talent. Recent reports show that some newly joined AI researchers have chosen to leave, indicating that even Meta is not without its difficulties. Apple has not made any public comments on this personnel change.
Apple's AI team is currently undergoing restructuring, and internal morale has been affected, with some employees looking for new job opportunities. There are internal discussions about whether Apple needs to rely more on external technologies rather than just its own developed models, reflecting a new approach for the company in responding to market competition.
As artificial intelligence technology continues to develop, the demand for talent in the industry remains high, and tech companies are competing to hire top researchers to maintain their competitive advantages. In the future, how to effectively retain talent and enhance R&D capabilities will become an important issue for Apple and other tech companies.
Key Points:
🌐 Apple's chief AI researcher, Jian Zhang, joins Meta, triggering concerns over talent loss.
📉 Three researchers from Apple's large language model team have left, placing Apple's AI team in an unstable situation.
💰 Meta attracts talent with generous salaries, but also faces challenges with new employees leaving.
