Ke Yang, the Apple executive recently appointed to lead the company’s AI-driven web search initiative, is leaving to join Meta, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources familiar with the matter. Her departure marks the latest in a string of high-profile exits from Apple’s artificial intelligence division as major tech firms battle for AI leadership.
Yang was named head of Apple’s Answers, Knowledge and Information (AKI) team, which is spearheading a ChatGPT-like project designed to enhance the Siri voice assistant and introduce advanced generative AI search capabilities expected to launch next year. She joined Apple in 2019 and played a key role in AI system development before her recent promotion.
Meta, led by Mark Zuckerberg, has been on a hiring spree to strengthen its AI research and product teams, competing with OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic for top engineering talent. The company has previously recruited several AI specialists from Apple, including Ruoming Pang, as it seeks to accelerate its path toward next-generation AI systems.
The defection highlights how the AI talent war is reshaping the tech industry, as companies increasingly view human expertise as their most critical competitive advantage in the race toward artificial general intelligence.
