Apple Restructures AI division, Elevates Amar Subramanya as Siri Faces Ongoing Challenges
CUPERTINO, CA – June 13, 2024 – Apple announced a meaningful restructuring of its artificial intelligence (AI) leadership today, appointing former Microsoft AI leader Amar Subramanya to a newly created role reporting to software engineering head Craig Federighi. The move comes as Apple navigates delays and setbacks in its Apple Intelligence rollout and seeks to bolster its capabilities in generative AI.
Subramanya,a longtime Google engineer who contributed to the advancement of the Gemini assistant,will focus on translating AI research into tangible product features,particularly for the anticipated personalized Siri update expected next year. Apple CEO Tim Cook stated, ”AI has long been central to Apple’s strategy, and we are pleased to welcome Amar to Craig’s leadership team.”
The reorganization also expands Federighi’s responsibilities to include oversight of Apple’s foundation models, placing core AI development under his purview alongside operations head Sabih Khan and services leader Eddy Cue.
This leadership shuffle underscores the urgency Apple faces in rebuilding its AI infrastructure as generative AI increasingly shapes consumer engagement across sectors like shopping, payments, and digital banking.
Recent months have seen Apple grapple with challenges in its AI initiatives. The company delayed key Apple Intelligence features for iOS and iPadOS to ensure code stability. Initial releases of AI-generated news summaries and message alerts faced criticism for inaccuracies, leading Apple to temporarily pull the feature.
Engineering difficulties have also hampered the development of a next-generation Siri, intended to be the foundation of Apple intelligence and power new commerce and retail experiences. Reports indicate ongoing bug fixes and internal adjustments to address these issues. Apple is reportedly nearing a deal possibly worth $1 billion annually to leverage Google’s more powerful AI models as a temporary solution while it works to improve its in-house capabilities.
