Meta’s Mega Millions Payday Sparks Talent Quake: Apple’s Top AI Executive Ruoming Pang Jumping Ship

TradingKey - Bloomberg and multiple international media outlets reported that Ruoming Pang, a key Apple(AAPL.US) executive responsible for foundational model development in the company’s AI division, is set to leave and join Meta’s(META.US) so-called “Superintelligence Lab,” sparking widespread concern over the stability of Apple’s AI strategy.

According to sources, Meta lured away Pang with an annual compensation package reportedly worth tens of millions of dollars, bringing him directly into Mark Zuckerberg’s flagship AGI (Artificial General Intelligence) initiative. His departure is seen as one of the most significant talent losses Apple has suffered since launching its AI transformation.

At the same time, Meta has been aggressively poaching top-tier talent from leading AI organizations including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Scale AI—bringing on board figures such as Alexandr Wang and Yuanzhi Li—demonstrating a highly aggressive posture in the ongoing AI arms race.

The company is pouring tens of billions of dollars into building out AI infrastructure and has restructured its AI teams around the goal of achieving "ulra-scale intelligence." In contrast, Apple finds itself locked in internal debates over whether to continue developing its own Siri AI model or consider adopting third-party solutions, causing morale to waver.

From the Street

Goldman Sachs analyst Ryan Patel noted that the recent departures within Apple’s AI team could slow down the company's deployment of generative AI capabilities, urging it to accelerate external partnerships to stay competitive.

Citigroup chief strategist Tobias Levkovich observed that while Meta’s aggressive moves have fueled investor optimism and lifted its valuation in the short term, proving long-term profitability remains a critical challenge.