Apple Names Amar Subramanya New VP of AI as Giannandrea Steps Down

Apple has announced a major AI leadership change, appointing veteran researcher Amar Subramanya as its new vice president of AI while longtime AI chief John Giannandrea prepares to retire in spring 2026. Giannandrea, who has directed Apple’s machine learning and AI strategy since 2018, will stay on as an advisor during the transition.

Subramanya will report to senior vice president of software engineering Craig Federighi and take charge of Apple’s expanding AI initiatives, including Apple Foundation Models, machine-learning research programmes, and AI safety and evaluation efforts.

The appointment marks a significant step as Apple accelerates its Apple Intelligence roadmap to compete with rapid AI advancements at Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI.

As part of the organisational shift, the remaining functions under Giannandrea will move to operations chief Sabih Khan and services lead Eddy Cue, allowing Apple to align its AI and product workflows more closely across hardware and services divisions.

Giannandrea’s Legacy in Apple’s AI Strategy

Since joining Apple, Giannandrea has built a large in-house team responsible for critical infrastructure powering Apple’s AI developments—from search and knowledge systems to its machine learning backbone and early foundation models. His leadership has shaped the company’s push toward on-device intelligence and secure, privacy-driven AI features.

Apple is preparing to introduce a more personalised and context-aware Siri next year, a project overseen by Federighi and built on the foundations established by Giannandrea’s organisation.

Subramanya’s appointment strengthens Apple’s leadership bench at a time when AI capabilities are increasingly central to the company’s product strategy. He previously served as corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft and spent 16 years at Google, where he led engineering for the Gemini Assistant programme.

His experience integrating advanced machine learning into consumer products is expected to play a pivotal role as Apple expands Apple Intelligence across devices.

Apple Signals a Stronger Push Into Next-Generation AI

CEO Tim Cook thanked Giannandrea for his “foundational” contributions and welcomed Subramanya as a key addition to the company’s AI leadership. “AI has long been central to Apple’s strategy,” Cook said, adding that Subramanya’s expertise will help Apple deliver more intelligent and personalised user experiences.

With Federighi’s expanded oversight, the arrival of Subramanya, and Giannandrea’s advisory role during the transition, Apple is positioning itself to accelerate innovation in AI, foundation models, and machine-learning technologies.

The leadership reset underscores Apple’s commitment to shaping the future of device-centric AI and strengthening its capabilities amid intensifying competition in the global AI ecosystem.