Ke Yang’s sudden exit from Apple to join Meta signals another high-stakes move in Silicon Valley’s escalating battle for top AI talent.
Quick Summary – TLDR:
- Ke Yang, recently promoted to lead Apple’s AI search division, has left to join Meta.
- Yang was central to Apple’s plan for a smarter, web-connected Siri with ChatGPT-like abilities.
- Meta has been actively hiring top AI talent from Apple, including leaders of major AI initiatives.
- Yang’s exit may delay Apple’s 2026 Siri revamp and points to internal turbulence in its AI strategy.
What Happened?
Ke Yang, who just weeks ago was elevated to lead Apple’s Answers, Knowledge and Information (AKI) team, has left the company to join Meta. The AKI group is essential to Apple’s efforts to overhaul Siri into a more powerful AI assistant that can search the web and respond like ChatGPT.
His departure marks a fresh blow to Apple’s ambitions in generative AI and adds fuel to the growing competition between Meta and Apple for AI dominance.
BREAKING: Apple’s AI Search Head Quits Weeks After Promotion, Joins Meta
— Ask Perplexity (@AskPerplexity) October 16, 2025
Ke Yang—appointed just weeks ago as head of Apple’s Answers, Knowledge and Information (AKI) team to spearhead ChatGPT-like AI search—is leaving for Meta Platforms Inc.
This marks the ~12th departure from… pic.twitter.com/9KD3W9IGBt
Apple’s AI Struggles Deepen
Apple had promoted Yang to head the AKI division after the exit of Robby Walker, the previous lead overseeing Siri’s evolution. The AKI team is responsible for building real-time search capabilities into Siri, aiming to make the voice assistant more context-aware and conversational. Yang reported directly to John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president of AI and machine learning, and had been with Apple since 2019.
Now, amid internal restructuring, the AKI team will fall under Benoit Dupin, a deputy to Giannandrea focused on machine learning infrastructure. While Apple has not officially commented on the move, Bloomberg sources say that remaining team members expect more exits in the coming months.
Meta’s Hiring Spree and Billion Dollar Ambitions
Yang will now be part of Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, a newly established unit tasked with advancing AI research and development. His switch follows a string of major talent acquisitions by Meta from Apple:
- Ruoming Pang, founder and lead scientist of Apple’s Foundation Models team.
- Chong Wang, a senior researcher hired last week.
- Frank Chu, who worked on AI infrastructure and joined Meta in August.
These moves come as Meta ramps up its investment in AI, offering lucrative deals to top researchers. Pang’s package reportedly exceeded $200 million, showcasing the scale of Meta’s ambition to lead in superintelligent AI systems.
Siri Overhaul Timeline at Risk
Apple had targeted March 2026 for launching a significantly upgraded Siri, with abilities like accessing personal user data and handling complex queries. But the project has already seen delays, and Yang’s departure may introduce further instability.
Frustrations reportedly run high within Apple’s AI teams due to constant reorganization and slow rollout of the new “Apple Intelligence” features. The exit of Ke Yang adds to the narrative that Apple is struggling to compete in the AI arms race against rivals like OpenAI, Google, Perplexity, and now, aggressively, Meta.
SQ Magazine Takeaway
I think this is a wake-up call for Apple. When your newly promoted AI lead leaves weeks into the job, it says a lot about the internal morale and direction. Meta’s strategic poaching is no accident. They’re building something massive, and they know talent is the engine. For Apple, this isn’t just a talent loss. It’s a credibility hit in a space where momentum and leadership matter. Siri’s evolution is already late to the party, and with this, it might show up even later.
