Apple names Amar Subramanya VP of AI as John Giannandrea steps down

Apple has named former Microsoft and Google executive Amar Subramanya as vice president of AI, reporting to Craig Federighi, as John Giannandrea steps down and moves into an adviser role

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As iPhone maker Apple made leadership changes in its artificial intelligence (AI) division, it announced the appointment of Amar Subramanya as vice president of AI. He will report to Craig Federighi, senior vice president, software engineering.

 

What role will John Giannandrea play after stepping down?

 

The changes were made as John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president for machine learning and AI strategy, is stepping down from his position and will serve as an adviser to the company before retiring in the spring of 2026.

 

What will Subramanya lead within Apple’s AI organisation?

 

Subramanya will lead critical areas, including Apple foundation models, ML research, and AI safety and evaluation. The balance of Giannandrea’s organisation will shift to Sabih Khan and Eddy Cue to align more closely with similar organisations, Apple said in a statement.

 

How is Apple framing the appointment in its AI push?

 

Many are seeing this announcement as an effort by Apple to bolster its AI offerings. “This moment marks an exciting new chapter as Apple strengthens its commitment to shaping the future of AI for users everywhere,” Apple said in a statement.

 

What did Tim Cook say about Subramanya’s appointment and Siri plans?

 

Tim Cook, Apple chief executive officer (CEO), said in a statement: “AI has long been central to Apple’s strategy, and we are pleased to welcome Amar to Craig’s leadership team and to bring his extraordinary AI expertise to Apple. In addition to growing his leadership team and AI responsibilities with Amar’s joining, Craig has been instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to bring a more personalised Siri to users next year.”

 

What has Subramanya done before joining Apple?

 

Before joining Apple, Subramanya served as corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft, and previously spent 16 years at Google, where he was head of engineering for Google’s Gemini Assistant prior to his departure. “His deep expertise in both AI and ML research and in integrating that research into products and features will be important to Apple’s ongoing innovation and future Apple Intelligence features,” the company said in a press statement.

 

What is Subramanya’s educational background?

 

Subramanya, an AI researcher and engineer, is a pass-out of Bengaluru University, majoring in electrical, electronics and communications engineering. He completed his PhD from the University of Washington.

 

What roles did he hold at IBM, Google and Microsoft?

 

Before joining Microsoft as an intern in 2005, Subramanya worked with IBM for about 10 months. His longest stint has been with Google — 16 years. From starting as staff research scientist at Google when he joined in 2009, Subramanya went on to become vice president, engineering, at Google. He was head of engineering of Gemini, and was part of DeepMind.

 

It was only in July this year that he joined Microsoft as corporate vice president, AI. In a post on LinkedIn as he took his role at Microsoft he wrote: “Just one week into my new role, I’m already feeling deeply energised. The culture here is refreshingly low ego yet bursting with ambition. It reminds me of the best parts of a startup: fast-moving, collaborative, and deeply focused on building truly innovative, state-of-the-art foundation models to drive delightful AI-powered products such as Microsoft Copilot.”

 

What does Subramanya’s move signal about the AI talent war?

 

Subramanya’s short stint at Microsoft yet again highlights the AI talent war among the big techs. According to media reports, Microsoft had poached over 20 researchers from Google’s DeepMind. This war for talent has also meant sky-rocketing salaries.

 

What pay packages are being reported for top AI hires?

 

For instance, Meta’s SuperIntelligence team are reportedly earning packages upwards of $10 million to over $100 million.