Apple AI chief exits
Apple AI lead John Giannandrea is set to leave this week after his responsibilities were cut back following problems with Apple Intelligence and delays to Siri. The departure is reported as linked to execution and organisational changes rather than a new product reveal (iclarified.com).
John Giannandrea, the Apple executive hired to lead artificial intelligence in 2018, is leaving the company this week after being moved into an advisory role. (apple.com) Apple said on December 1, 2025 that Giannandrea was stepping down as senior vice president of machine learning and artificial intelligence strategy and would retire in spring 2026. The company named Amar Subramanya vice president of artificial intelligence, reporting to software chief Craig Federighi. (apple.com) Reports published April 12 and April 13 said Giannandrea was expected to exit Apple Park shortly after April 15, when stock awards were set to vest. Apple has not announced a new product tied to the change. (appleinsider.com) (nationaltoday.com) The departure lands after Apple’s most visible artificial intelligence setback: a delay to the more capable Siri features it showed at its June 10, 2024 developers conference. Apple said on March 7, 2025 that those Siri upgrades, which had been expected in spring 2025, would now arrive in 2026. (apple.com) (cnbc.com) Those promised Siri features were central to Apple Intelligence, the company’s system for writing tools, summaries, image generation and on-device requests across the iPhone, iPad and Mac. Apple pitched the new Siri as software that could understand personal context and take actions across apps, not just answer one question at a time. (apple.com) (cnbc.com) Giannandrea came to Apple from Google in April 2018 and was formally added to Apple’s executive team in December that year. Apple said then that he would oversee machine learning and artificial intelligence strategy across the company, including Core Machine Learning and Siri. (apple.com) (cnbc.com) By late 2025, Apple had reorganized that structure. In its retirement announcement, the company said Subramanya would lead artificial intelligence work and report to Federighi, shifting the center of gravity for Apple’s artificial intelligence effort toward the software organization. (apple.com) The immediate test for Apple is still Siri. Giannandrea was hired to help Apple catch up in artificial intelligence, and he is leaving with the company still trying to ship the assistant it previewed nearly two years ago. (apple.com 1) (apple.com 2) (cnbc.com)
