Key Highlights:
- Jian Zhang, Apple’s lead AI researcher for robotics, has left the company to join Meta’s competing efforts, adding to a string of high-profile departures from Apple’s AI division.
- The move is part of a broader talent exodus from Apple’s Foundation Models team, with other researchers defecting to OpenAI and Anthropic.
- Analysts point to a crisis of confidence within Apple’s AI teams, citing worsening morale, a compensation gap with rivals, and a potential internal shift away from homegrown models.
Apple, long known for its ability to retain top talent, is struck with yet another exodus from its artificial intelligence division, with its lead AI researcher for robotics, Jian Zhang, leaving to join Meta. According to a report by Bloomberg the departure, is the latest in a wave of high-profile exits that has made headlines in the tech world and raised questions about Apple’s long-term AI strategy. Zhang’s move, along with the departure of other key researchers, adds onto the high-stakes talent war being waged in the AI market.
Zhang, who had been with Apple for ten years, led a small team focused on automation technology and the role of AI in tech products. He has now joined the Meta Robotics Studio, a key part of the social media company’s Reality Labs division. The exit of a top-tier researcher like Zhang is a significant blow to Apple, which is developing its own robotics initiatives, including a rumored tabletop robot and a robotic arm for its retail stores.
The talent drain extends beyond robotics.
According to sources with knowledge of the matter, three more senior researchers from Apple’s in-house large language models (LLM) team have also recently departed. John Peebles and Nan Du are reportedly heading to OpenAI, while Zhao Meng is joining Anthropic PBC. This group was central to the development of Apple Intelligence, the AI platform launched last year, and their departures add to a team that has already lost nearly 10 members in recent weeks, including its former head, Ruoming Pang.
Apple’s Robotics Ambitions and AI Morale
The departure of Jian Zhang comes at a sensitive time for Apple’s robotics and AI aspirations. While the company has been publicly quiet about its robotics work, reports have indicated a significant internal push to develop advanced robotic systems. Thus, loss of a leader in this area could stall or re-route those projects.
NEW: Apple has lost four more AI researchers, including the head of research for robotics in its AI division. The latest set of exits are heading to OpenAI, Anthropic and Meta. https://t.co/mOdzpI94Nl
— Mark Gurman (@markgurman) September 2, 2025
Most industry recruiters and analysts see the recent string of exits as a crisis of confidence within Apple’s AI division. The sentiment “may have” been fuelled by internal discussions about the company’s future direction in AI. According to Bloomberg, Apple is reportedly debating whether to rely more on external technology from partners like OpenAI and Google rather than solely on its own homegrown models. An added perception that Apple’s compensation for AI talent does not match the lucrative packages offered by rivals like Meta, could have also led to a decline in morale.
Meta’s Gain in the AI Talent War
The hiring of Jian Zhang into Meta’s Reality Labs division, which also houses its robotics studio, would prove to be critical moving forward. Mark Zuckerberg led company is laying emphasis on foundational AI to support its work on augmented and virtual reality, as well as hardware for humanoid robots. With Zhang on board, Meta gains a decade of experience and deep expertise in automation and the application of AI in robotics, a field where they are actively trying to close the gap with competitors.
Meta’s strategy in this talent war is by now crystal clear – offer massive financial incentives to lure top-tier researchers away from rivals. Using the same approach, the company reportedly offered Ruoming Pang, the former head of Apple’s foundational models team, a multi-year package worth $200 million.
While some of Meta’s recently hired researchers have reportedly already left, the company’s aggressive recruitment and focus on open-source AI and rapid prototyping have proven highly effective in attracting talent frustrated by what they perceive as Apple’s more conservative and bureaucratic approach. The ongoing AI talent war shows no signs of slowing down, and for now, it appears that Meta is winning the battle for some of the industry’s most sought-after minds.
