This time also a robot expert: AI departures from Apple to Meta continue

The departures in Apple's AI department towards Meta's "Superintelligence Labs" are becoming a never-ending story. What began with the head of Apple Intelligence's basic models has gone on and on and on. Now a key researcher from Apple's robotics department is said to have left Cupertino for Menlo Park, with Apple reportedly planning to build its own home robots in the coming years. As the financial news agency Bloomberg reported this week, this is Jian Zhang, who is said to have led a small team of other scientists working on automation processes including AI integration in products for Apple.

Researcher involved in Apple's "Luxo Jr."

What is new is that the ex-Apple robotics employee is not moving to the Superintelligence Labs at Meta as was the case with the other departures, but to the Meta Robotics Studio there, which is relatively unknown. Meta confirmed the new addition to Bloomberg. What exactly Zhang will be doing is still unknown. What is exciting, however, is what he last worked on at Apple: He is listed as the main author in a research paper in which Apple had presented a kind of real "Luxo Jr." robot in the Pixar style.

This is considered a possible inspiration for a new home device in the form of a "tabletop robot". However, the research department where Zhang worked is not part of Apple's robotics product segment, which falls under hardware engineering. A former employee of Zhang's, Mario Srouji, piquantly the son of Apple chip boss Johny Srouji, had previously left. He now works for the air taxi company Archer Aviation.

Further departures – also to OpenAI and Anthropic

Meanwhile, Bloomberg reports three more Apple AI departures. A total of ten people are said to have left the important group for basic AI models. It was considered the central authority for the creation of Apple Intelligence. The three fresh ex-Apple employees are John Peebles, Zhao Meng and Nan Du, who at least are not moving to Meta.

Du and Peebles are going to OpenAI, Zhao to Anthropic. Meanwhile, a report from Wired states that the AI experts who were lured to Meta with high salaries are not all happy. The first resignations are said to have already taken place.

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