A change at the top of Apple in the field of artificial intelligence, which is considered strategic by the technology giants. The company announced that John Gianandrea, senior vice president of machine learning and AI strategy, will step down and become an advisor to the company before retiring in the spring of 2026. The company announced the inclusion of “recognized AI researcher” Amar Subramania as vice president of AI, reporting to Craig Federighi.
Apple explained that Subramanya will bring with him extensive experience, as he most recently served as Vice President of the Artificial Intelligence Department at Microsoft and for 16 years at Alphabet, where he managed the engineering of Google Gemini Assistant before leaving.
According to the company, its expanded experience in AI research and machine learning, as well as in integrating this research into products and functionality, will be key to Apple’s continued innovation and future Apple Intelligence functionality. Also, Subramanya will lead important areas, such as Apple Fund modeling, machine learning research, security, and AI evaluation.
While automatic learning has been central to Apple’s business for a long time, the company appears to have fallen behind competitors like Google. Apple is believed in the market to have had years of success compared to its AI competitors, especially its AI agent Siri, which was an industry leader when it was first launched.
Furthermore, the company has been criticized in recent months for the slow implementation of its Apple AI system, which has not yet been integrated with apps such as Android phones with Gemini.
“We are grateful for the role John played in advancing our work in artificial intelligence, and helping Apple continue to innovate and enrich the lives of our users,” said Apple CEO Tim Cook. “AI has played an integral role in Apple’s strategy for a long time, and we are thrilled to welcome Amar to Craig Federighi’s leadership team and bring his exceptional AI expertise to Apple. In addition to expanding our AI leadership team and responsibilities through the integration of Amar, Craig has been instrumental in leading our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to bring a more personalized Siri to users next year,” he explained.
The company insists that these leadership changes will help the group push the boundaries of what’s possible: “With Gianandrea’s contributions as a founder, Federighi’s expanded oversight and Subramania’s deep experience guiding the next generation of AI technologies, Apple is poised to accelerate its work to deliver intelligent, trusted, and deeply personal experiences.”
Likewise, the company asserts that this moment “marks an exciting new chapter, as Apple reaffirms its commitment to shaping the future of AI for users around the world.”