Imagine a grandmaster suddenly switching teams in the middle of a tournament. That’s what happened when Ruoming Pang, lead researcher at one of Apple’s most secretive and influential AI departments, became part of Meta’s Superintelligence Labs. He is leading Meta’s new lab Alexander Wang, former CEO of Scale AI, and Nate Friedman, former CEO of GitHub.
The move has not only created a stir in tech circles but has also raised questions about Apple’s AI strategy.
Who is Ruoming Pang?
Ruoming Pang is no ordinary tech engineer. He began his career at Google, where he was the lead developer of an internal authorization platform called Zanzibar — the backbone of thousands of Google services.
In addition, he worked on linguistic models such as BabelFish and Lingvo at Google, which revolutionized speech recognition. He also led Tacotron 2, Google’s technology for converting text into natural voice.
Then around 2021, Apple hired him, where he headed the Foundation Models department. He led a team of about 100 engineers and breathed new life into Siri, on-device intelligence, and new features like Genmoji.
New beginning in Meta
Now, in July 2025, news came that Ruoming Pang has said goodbye to Apple and is now a part of Meta’s AI team. It is being said that he got an annual offer of millions of dollars, which is becoming a new trend in Silicon Valley to attract today’s AI talents.
Meta’s Superintelligence Labs is working with the goal of creating an “AGI”—Artificial General Intelligence. So far, dozens of AI experts from institutions like OpenAI, DeepMind, Anthropic, and Scale AI have joined this lab.
Why is Meta recruiting top AI talent?
Meta is currently building the largest and fastest growing AI team in the world. This is not just to shape the technology of the future, but to outcompete companies like Google and Apple.
- Ruoming Pang’s joining the team is a strategic asset for Meta. His experience ranges from “on-device intelligence” to “scalable foundational models.”
- This setback is special for Apple because he was responsible for the development of the new generation of Siri. His departure may now force Apple to rethink its AI strategy.
What is Apple’s position now?
There has been no official statement from Apple yet. But according to sources, there is concern within the company about this transition. Especially when Apple is thinking about possible partnerships with external companies like OpenAI and Anthropic to rapidly expand its AI capabilities.
The question arises: will Apple now develop its own AI engine, or will it again rely on external tools?
Pang’s educational and technical background
Category Description
Education PhD – Princeton, MS – USC
Contribute to Google Zanzibar, BigTable search, Tacotron 2, Lingvo
Contribution to Apple Foundation Models team lead, Genmoji, Siri improvements, on-device AI
Is this the beginning of the AI war?
This is not just a “hire” in the AI industry, but a major strategic move. This move by Meta shows that they are willing to go very far in the race towards AGI (Artificial General Intelligence).
While brands like Apple have been taking slow steps in the name of privacy and security for years, Meta has now openly jumped into the “Talent War”.
It would not be wrong to say that the direction and condition of the AI world in the coming months will largely be decided by such big decisions.
- Why did Meta hire experts from the AI world – Reuters report
- What the exit of top AI talent from Apple indicates – India Times
- Meta’s Plan on AI Superintelligence – Investopedia Analysis
conclusion
Ruoming Pang’s move to Meta isn’t just an employee switching companies. It’s part of an AI revolution that’s taking place among the world’s biggest tech companies. As technology grows more complex, the race toward human-like intelligence is now becoming more about talent and money.
And in that battle—Ruoming Pang is now playing for Meta.