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Ke Yang, the Apple executive leading the iPhone maker’s efforts to build AI-driven web search, is heading to Meta, according to a Bloomberg report.
Yang’s departure marks the latest in a string of exits from Apple’s AI unit, putting the company into jeopardy in the lead-up to a much-anticipated Siri revamp scheduled for March. Ruoming Pang, Apple’s former head of AI models, left for Meta earlier this year. Roughly a dozen team members on Apple’s AIML (AI and machine learning) team also left the company. Several members joined Meta’s new Superintelligence Labs.
A few weeks ago, Yang began overseeing the Answers, Knowledge, and Information (AKI) team, which is tasked with improving Siri’s functionality by allowing it to pull information from the web so Apple can better compete with rivals in the AI search market, like OpenAI, Perplexity, and Google. The new Siri also promises to be able to tap into personal data for more complex tasks.
Bloomberg reports that Apple’s remaining team members expect more AI team members to jump ship in the coming months.
TechCrunch has reached out to Apple and Meta for comment.
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