Apple fires AI department head
- Apple did not fire a current AI department head this week. John Giannandrea, Apple’s former AI chief, left in mid-April after a December retirement announcement. - Apple said on December 1, 2025 that Giannandrea would step down immediately, advise briefly, and retire in spring 2026; Amar Subramanya took over AI. - The change followed Siri delays and a broader AI reshuffle at Apple. (apple.com)
Apple’s AI chief was not abruptly fired this week. John Giannandrea had already stepped down on December 1, 2025, and left Apple in mid-April 2026. (apple.com) (9to5mac.com) Apple announced in December that Giannandrea, its senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, would move to an advisory role before retiring in spring 2026. The company also named Amar Subramanya vice president of AI, reporting to software chief Craig Federighi. (apple.com) By April 13, 2026, multiple Apple-focused outlets reported that Giannandrea’s final departure was tied to a stock-vesting date that week, ending an eight-year run that began with his hire from Google in 2018. (macrumors.com) (9to5mac.com) The confusion comes from timing. A real leadership change happened months ago, but some social posts recast the final exit in April as a new firing. Apple’s December statement framed the move as a planned succession, not a dismissal. Tim Cook said Federighi had already been playing a key role in Apple’s artificial intelligence work, while Subramanya was assigned Apple Foundation Models, machine learning research, and AI safety. (apple.com) (cnbc.com) The backdrop was Apple’s uneven artificial intelligence rollout. In 2025, the company delayed a more capable Siri and faced heavier pressure from OpenAI, Google, Meta, and Microsoft. (nbcnews.com) (cnbc.com) That reshuffle also redistributed influence inside Apple. Public reports said more AI responsibility moved toward Federighi and other senior leaders as Apple tried to integrate its models more directly into software products. (apple.com) (macrumors.com) Giannandrea resurfaced quickly after leaving. On April 27, 2026, 9to5Mac reported he had taken a new role with CuspAI, a materials-science startup using artificial intelligence. (9to5mac.com) So the clean version is simpler than the headline: Apple’s AI leadership changed in December 2025, and Giannandrea’s actual exit happened in April 2026. (apple.com) (9to5mac.com)
