Why Mark Zuckerberg’s aggressive hiring spree for his Superintelligence team may be threatening Apple’s AI ambitions
Meta systematic poaching of Apple’s artificial intelligence talent has reached a critical juncture, with four key researchers departing for the social media giant’s superintelligence team within a single month. The latest defection, multimodal AI expert Bowen Zhang, left Apple on Friday to join Meta’s ambitious project aimed at creating AI that surpasses human intelligence, according to Bloomberg.The talent exodus strikes at the heart of Apple’s struggling AI strategy, which has faced mounting criticism throughout 2025. Apple’s AI personalization features failed to reach the company’s “high bar” for quality, forcing delays that were acknowledged at this year’s WWDC event, Fast Company reported. Insiders say continued failure to get artificial intelligence right threatens everything from the iPhone‘s dominance to plans for robots and other futuristic products, Bloomberg previously revealed.Zhang’s departure follows the high-profile exit of Ruoming Pang, who led Apple’s foundation models group and was recruited by Meta with a compensation package exceeding $200 million, Bloomberg reported. Tom Gunter and Mark Lee, both crucial AFM researchers, also recently joined Meta’s superintelligence initiative.
Apple’s AI struggles create perfect storm for competitor raids
The timing of Meta’s aggressive recruitment couldn’t be worse for Apple, which is grappling with fundamental questions about its AI direction. Bloomberg sources indicate that some Apple executives now view the company’s homegrown models as obstacles to competing with AI leaders, prompting exploration of third-party solutions from OpenAI or Anthropic for future Siri versions.Apple is facing pressure to make a major acquisition amid its AI troubles, with investors concerned by a slump in share prices that has wiped out more than $630 billion in market value this year, PYMNTS reported. The company’s cautious approach to AI development, constrained by privacy commitments that favor on-device processing over cloud-based solutions, has left it vulnerable to competitors offering more capable systems.Meta’s willingness to pay Silicon Valley’s highest AI salaries creates an irresistible pull for researchers frustrated by Apple’s internal uncertainties and modest compensation increases, Bloomberg sources noted.
