2025-12-03 07:00:18
Apple has tapped former Microsoft vice-president Amar Subramanya to lead its artificial intelligence division.
Subramanya will be replacing longtime AI chief John Giannandrea, who will step down and advise the company until his retirement in the spring, Apple confirmed.
The move marks Apple’s most significant AI leadership shake-up since generative models reshaped the industry – and comes as the company fights to regain momentum in a race dominated by Google’s Gemini and OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
Subramanya joined Microsoft only six months ago after leaving Google, where he helped shape the Gemini model family.
He now steps into a far more high-stakes role: steering Apple’s AI overhaul just as the company faces mounting criticism for lagging rivals on generative tools and advanced conversational systems.
Apple CEO Tim Cook welcomed the hire, saying Subramanya brings “extraordinary AI expertise” and will help accelerate the company’s Apple Intelligence strategy.
Giannandrea, who arrived from Google in 2018, had been responsible for Siri and the broader machine-learning stack across Apple’s products.
But delays to Siri’s next-generation update – and a sluggish rollout of generative features – saw him gradually lose responsibility, with Siri moved under Craig Federighi earlier this year.
Federighi, Apple’s software chief and a key contender in succession planning for Cook, will now oversee Subramanya directly.
The appointment also underscores a fierce AI talent war playing out across Big Tech.
Subramanya was among more than two dozen researchers Microsoft poached from Google earlier this year to build its “superintelligence” team led by DeepMind co-founder Mustafa Suleyman.
Now Apple has turned the tables by pulling him away just as Microsoft restructures its AI partnership with OpenAI.
Apple is expected to introduce a more personalized, generative version of Siri next year, a launch that will now serve as Subramanya’s first major test.
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