Meta Platforms (META) has poached Apple’s (AAPL) top artificial intelligence (AI) executive, Ruoming Pang, to further solidify its Superintelligence team. Meta reportedly offered Pang a compensation package worth tens of millions of dollars annually to lure the AI executive. Pang could play a key role in developing small, on-device AI models for Meta, similar to his role at Apple. The news was first reported by Bloomberg, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Don’t Miss TipRanks’ Half-Year Sale
- Take advantage of TipRanks Premium at 50% off! Unlock powerful investing tools, advanced data, and expert analyst insights to help you invest with confidence.
- Make smarter investment decisions with TipRanks' Smart Investor Picks, delivered to your inbox every week.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg has taken a personal interest in building the company’s Superintelligence team. Meta has recruited top AI talent from startups such as OpenAI and from major tech companies like Apple and Alphabet (GOOGL). The company is committed to investing billions of dollars in its AI initiatives to compete effectively with its rivals.
Apple’s Loss Is Meta’s Gain
Pang worked as the chief software engineer and manager in charge of the Apple Foundation Models (AFM) team, which consisted of roughly 100 engineers. He was responsible for overseeing the development of Apple’s large language models (LLMs), which are the cornerstones of Apple Intelligence and a slew of other AI features. Before joining Apple in 2021, Pang worked at Alphabet for about 15 years. Pang’s departure marks a significant loss for Apple’s AI efforts, especially as the company is already lagging behind its peers. Pang’s exit could also prompt an exodus of engineers from Apple’s AFM team.
Meanwhile, Meta continues to strengthen its Superintelligence efforts with new team members. Along with Pang, Meta also poached OpenAI researcher Yuanzhi Li and Anton Bakhtin, who worked on Claude at Anthropic PBC, on Monday. Zuckerberg has hired Scale AI founder Alexandr Wang to lead the Superintelligence team, while the company has also invested billions into the AI data-labeling startup. The Superintelligence team aims to build AI technology that can complete tasks as well as, or better than, humans.
Apple’s AI Team Struggles with Innovation
Notably, Apple opened its AI models to third-party developers in June, enabling the development of a multitude of new iPhone and iPad apps. However, recent reports that Apple is considering the use of third-party AI models to power its revamped version of Siri have dented the team’s morale. Apple was said to be in discussions with ChatGPT maker OpenAI and Claude maker Anthropic about using their models. Apple failed to impress investors and analysts at its annual Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) this year, after announcing only minor updates to its AI models and delaying the launch of its updated Siri.
Apple vs. Meta: Which Is the Better Tech Stock?
We used the TipRanks Stock Comparison Tool to determine which of the two stocks is most favored by analysts. Investors should conduct thorough research before choosing to invest in either stock.
Currently, META stock has earned Wall Street’s Strong Buy consensus rating and holds TipRanks’ Smart Score of ‘Perfect 10,’ implying the stock is most likely to exceed market expectations.
