Cupertino, October 16: Apple's AI Search Head, Ke Yang, who was recently promoted by the tech giant, has left the company to join Meta. This marks yet another professional hired by Mark Zuckerberg's Meta for its AI development projects. Ke Yang had been appointed by Apple as head of the AKI (Answers, Knowledge and Information) team to bring ChatGPT-like AI search functionality. However, before he could begin, he left the iPhone-maker.

Meta's hiring spree has left many companies short of talented employees. The tech giant, run by Mark Zuckerberg, has poached highly skilled AI professionals to join its Superintelligence team. OpenAI, Google's DeepMind, Anthropic, and Apple have been among the companies affected by Meta's hiring practices. Google Veo 3.1 Released: Tech Giant Launches New AI Video Generation Model with Improved Audio, Cinematic-Style Realistic Output and Enhanced Creative Controls.

Apple's Ke Yang Leaves Company After Promotion, Joins Meta 

Ke Yang Leaves Apple, Joins Meta 

Ke Yang Leaves Apple in Critical Stage, Joins Meta

Apple's former AI research head was appointed as AKI head to implement new search improvements, similar to what ChatGPT offers, said a report by Reuters. This was a major part of the development for a future version of the Siri voice assistant, planned for release in March. Ke Yang, who studied at Carnegie Mellon University, joined Apple in 2019.

Apple Losing Skilled AI Professionals to Mark Zuckerberg's Meta

In 2025, Apple lost several of its talented AI professionals to Meta, including Ruoming Pang and Jian Zhang. Both employees were instrumental in developing artificial intelligence and formed a major part of Apple's next AI initiatives. Ruoming Pang, reportedly offered a USD 200 million package, left Apple around July 2025 to join Meta's Superintelligence Labs. He was previously head of Apple's foundational model team. Astrotalk-Hornbill Capital Deal Collapses: Astrology Tech Startup's Proposed USD 120 Million Funding Hits a Wall After NSFW Content Found on Its App and Platform, Says Report.

Another skilled employee, Jian Zhang left Apple and joined Meta's Robotics Studio. Zhang worked as lead AI robotics researcher at Apple. Reports said that he was offered the USD 200 million package. This year, Meta has hired employees from rivals to build Superintelligence Labs team and focus on providing "personal intelligence" and AI that could surpass human capabilities.

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