John Giannandrea (JG), the senior vice president who led Apple's artificial intelligence (AI) strategy, is reportedly leaving the company this week. The industry analyzed that he is stepping down, taking responsibility for delays in the launch of "Apple Intelligence" and sluggish progress in improving Siri's performance.
According to Bloomberg and other foreign media on the 12th (local time), JG, who joined Apple from Google in 2018, is expected to begin his departure process on the 15th, the final vesting date for his stock awards. JG had already expressed his intention to retire late last year.
JG's standing within Apple had already narrowed since March last year. According to the industry, key executives including Chief Executive Officer Tim Cook were not satisfied with the completeness of Apple Intelligence and the pace of Siri updates, and they disbanded the Siri and Robotics team that JG oversaw, transferring it to other divisions.
JG led the search and AI institutional sector at Google. However, after moving to Apple, a small decision-making structure centered on "internal organizations" appears to have hindered his ability to execute.
Citing internal sources, foreign media said that JG, an external hire, did not fully integrate into Apple's unique corporate culture and was not granted full support and authority as the company responded to the sweeping tide of Generative AI.
Going forward, JG's responsibilities are expected to be split among Senior Vice President of Software Craig Federighi, Senior Vice President of Services Eddy Cue, and Senior Vice President of Operations Sabi Khan.
In particular, Federighi is expected to handle the software integration of Apple Intelligence, while Cue will take charge of cloud- and server-based AI services.