Meta Platforms Inc (NASDAQ:META, ETR:FB2A, SWX:FB) has hired Apple Inc (NASDAQ:AAPL, ETR:APC) head of AI models, Ruoming Pang, to lead its newly formed superintelligence unit, Bloomberg reported on Monday, in the latest sign of intensifying competition among Big Tech firms for top artificial intelligence talent.
Pang, who led Apple’s 100-person foundation models team responsible for the company’s Apple Intelligence and Siri features, is reportedly joining Meta in a deal valued at tens of millions of dollars per year.
The move comes as Meta significantly ramps up its investments in artificial general intelligence (AGI) to compete with Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG)'s Google, Microsoft Corp (NASDAQ:MSFT), and OpenAI.
In June, Meta announced a $14.8 billion investment in AI startup Scale AI—its second-largest investment to date—and appointed Scale’s CEO, Alexandr Wang, to head its new “superintelligence” division.
Meta’s ambitious $15 billion initiative to develop human-surpassing AI systems has drawn scrutiny from rivals. Sam Altman, chief executive of OpenAI, accused Meta of trying to poach key personnel with “crazy” signing bonuses as high as $100 million.
Meta, led by CEO Mark Zuckerberg, has made AI central to its long-term growth strategy. The company has also made significant investments in other AI ventures and is seeking to position itself at the forefront of AGI development.
Meanwhile, competition for top-tier AI researchers continues to heat up. Anthropic, backed by Amazon (AMZN.O) and Google, is also reportedly drawing engineers away from competitors as the industry races to build next-generation AI.
Altman has tempered expectations despite soaring valuations and investments. “AI may fall short of the hype,” he said, though he acknowledged it could play a transformative role in accelerating scientific breakthroughs over the next decade.