Apple just lost another senior AI executive to Meta, marking the sixth defection in recent weeks as the tech giant struggles to retain top talent in the booming AI race.
TLDR:
- Frank Chu, a senior Apple executive, has joined Meta’s Superintelligence Labs.
- Chu is the sixth AI-focused Apple employee to leave for Meta in under two months.
- Meta’s high-profile hiring spree continues even after announcing a hiring freeze.
- Apple’s AI struggles and Siri delays may be fueling the ongoing exodus.
What Happened?
Meta has recruited Frank Chu, who previously led AI infrastructure at Apple, as part of its aggressive push to build a world-class AI division. Despite announcing a pause on new hires, Meta has made an exception for this high-profile recruitment, raising eyebrows across Silicon Valley.
Chu’s move follows a wave of departures from Apple to Meta, signaling growing internal challenges at Apple as it tries to stay relevant in the fast-moving AI industry.
🚨BREAKING: Zucc poaches 5th Apple top researcher for META superintelligence Labs (MSL)
— NIK (@ns123abc) August 22, 2025
> Frank Chu
> led Apple AI teams focused on cloud infrastructure, training and search, will be joining Meta Superintelligence Labs
we are so back. pic.twitter.com/6Orhn4gNeo
Meta’s AI Superteam Keeps Growing
Meta’s AI hiring spree has shown no signs of slowing down. The company, led by Mark Zuckerberg, has now hired six AI engineers from Apple in a span of just seven weeks. These include:
- Ruoming Pang, former head of Apple’s AI models team, reportedly lured by a package worth over $200 million
- Engineers Tom Gunter, Mark Lee, Bowen Zhang, and Yun Zhu
- And now, Frank Chu, who oversaw Apple’s cloud-based AI systems and played a key role in running large language models and developing Siri’s search tools
Chu worked under Benoit Dupin, Apple’s AI infrastructure chief, who reports directly to John Giannandrea, Apple’s AI strategy leader. His responsibilities made him one of Apple’s most critical AI leaders after Pang.
Chu will now join Meta Superintelligence Labs (MSL) and work under the MSL Infra unit, which is building out the infrastructure behind Meta’s next-gen AI systems. The division is being led by Alexandr Wang, the former CEO of Scale AI.
Meta Freezes Hiring But Keeps Poaching
Just as Meta announced a temporary hiring freeze across MSL, it made a notable exception for Chu. In an internal memo, Meta wrote:
“In order to responsibly manage our headcount and ensure our open and future roles are aligned with our top priorities, we’re temporarily pausing hiring across all MSL teams, with the exception of business-critical roles.”
Despite the freeze, Wang doubled down in a public post, writing:
“We are truly only investing more and more into Meta Superintelligence Labs as a company. Any reporting to the contrary of that is clearly mistaken.”
We are truly only investing more and more into Meta Superintelligence Labs as a company. Any reporting to the contrary of that is clearly mistaken.
— Alexandr Wang (@alexandr_wang) August 21, 2025
This reflects Meta’s larger ambition to become the dominant player in AI, especially by poaching top talent from competitors like Apple, Google, OpenAI, and Anthropic.
Apple’s AI Troubles Deepen
Apple, once a pioneer in consumer AI with Siri, now finds itself falling behind. The company has delayed a major Siri update and is reportedly considering using third-party AI models rather than its own. This signals a strategic shift and possibly a loss of confidence in its internal capabilities.
During Apple’s Q3 2025 earnings call, CEO Tim Cook was asked directly about these AI challenges. He later held an internal meeting, acknowledging the pressure and pledging to “make the investment” to catch up.
But with senior staff like Pang and Chu gone, and their teams following, Apple faces serious questions about whether it can keep up in the AI race or if it will keep bleeding talent to rivals like Meta.
What TechKV Thinks?
Honestly, this feels like a major wake-up call for Apple. When six AI experts jump ship to the same rival in under two months, it’s not a coincidence, it’s a pattern. Meta is building something ambitious, and Apple seems stuck in slow motion. Apple has the money, the hardware, and the ecosystem. What it clearly lacks right now is a compelling AI vision that can keep its top people excited.
And while Meta’s internal chaos and restructuring have drawn criticism, their bold approach is paying off. If Apple doesn’t move fast, it risks being left behind in what could be the most transformative tech shift since the iPhone.
