John Giannandrea, the man responsible for making Apple Intelligence what it is today, is out. It’s an expected change, as senior management reportedly didn’t think Giannandrea could provide the leadership needed to develop critical AI products.
Amar Subramanya, who Apple poached from Microsoft, will replace Giannandrea. Prior to his short stint at Microsoft, Subramanya spent many years at Google as head of engineering for the Gemini AI chatbot.
Apple’s AI chief steps down after a string of failures
Apple faces mounting pressure in the AI race as it gets left behind by Google, OpenAI and Microsoft. Its Apple Intelligence initiative promised personalized, on-device AI, but mostly remains just that — a promise. It debuted in fall 2024 with limited device compatibility, minimal features and questions about reliability. Meanwhile, Apple significantly postponed the highly anticipated revamp of its Siri voice assistant, now expected in spring 2025.
Much of the blame for the problems landed at the feet of John Giannandrea. In the spring, Apple replaced him as head of the project to develop the AI-enhanced version of Siri after CEO Tim Cook reportedly lost confidence in him.
And now Giannandrea’s out completely. Apple calls it a retirement, but Giannandrea is undoubtedly leaving under a cloud.
Apple brings in fresh leadership to overhaul Apple Intelligence
AI researcher Amar Subramanya joined Apple as vice president of AI on Monday, reporting to Craig Federighi. He’ll be responsible for Apple Foundation Models, ML research and AI safety and evaluation.
Most recently, Subramanya worked as vice president of AI at Microsoft — a position he’d held only since July. Previously, he spent 16 years at Google. His last post was VP of engineering for Gemini, the company’s world-class AI tool.
“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,” said Cook in a press release Monday announcing Giannandrea’s retirement.
Subramanya will not take over development of the AI-enhanced Siri. It seems Mike Rockwell will continue in the role he’s held since it was taken from Giannandrea in the spring. Plus, Cook emphasized Federighi’s central role in Apple’s AI efforts in Monday’s statement.
“In addition to growing his leadership team and AI responsibilities with Amar’s joining, Craig has been instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to bring a more personalized Siri to users next year,” remarked Apple’s CEO.
Ed Hardy has been writing full-time about tech for 25 years, and using it for much longer than that. His intro to Apple was a Macintosh Classic II (which he still has), but now he uses a 13-inch iPad Pro as his primary computer. He’s written for NotebookReview, TabletPCReview, and Brighthand, as well as other sites.
