Apple’s AI Chief Abruptly Retires

Apple's top artificial intelligence executive is stepping down and will retire from the company in 2026, the company announced.

The abrupt leadership change at a company known for its careful succession planning highlights Apple's challenge as it tries to compete with top AI developers. (Photo: Apple)

John Giannandrea had been at Apple since 2018, where his official title was senior vice president for machine learning and AI strategy, Steve Kpack reported for NBC News.

He will be replaced by Amar Subramanya, who joins Apple after a brief stint as corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft and more than a decade at Google.

Subramanya will report to one of CEO Tim Cook's deputies, Craig Federighi, rather than to Cook directly as Giannandrea had.

“AI has long been central to Apple’s strategy, and we are pleased to welcome Amar to Craig’s leadership team and to bring his extraordinary AI expertise to Apple,” Cook said.

The abrupt leadership change at a company known for its careful succession planning highlights Apple's challenge as it tries to compete with top AI developers such as Google, ChatGPT owner OpenAI, Meta, and Microsoft.

Earlier this year, Apple delayed the release of an upgraded version of Siri with AI-powered features.

At the time, the company said it was going to “take us longer than we thought” to develop the new version. Apple said it anticipated rolling out new features “in the coming year,” but has not offered additional specifics.