Apple AI Chief Retires as Amar Subramanya Joins
Apple AI Chief Retires as John Giannandrea shifts to an adviser role while Amar Subramanya joins, prompting share gains and focus on foundation models.
KEY TAKEAWAYS
- John Giannandrea will step down and serve as an adviser before retiring in spring 2026.
- Amar Subramanya joined as vice president of AI reporting to Craig Federighi and will lead Apple Foundation Models.
- Shares closed at $283.10, up 1.5%, and traded near $283.26 in after-hours at the time of reporting.
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Apple Inc. announced on Dec. 1, 2025, that John Giannandrea will step down as senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, serve as an adviser, and retire in spring 2026. Amar Subramanya has joined as vice president of AI.
Leadership Transition and Organizational Changes
Giannandrea joined Apple in 2018 and led its machine-learning and AI strategy for about seven years. His team managed Apple Foundation Models, Search and Knowledge, machine-learning research, and AI infrastructure. He will remain an adviser during the transition before retiring.
Subramanya reports to Craig Federighi and will lead Apple Foundation Models, machine-learning research, and AI Safety & Evaluation. He joined Apple after a brief tenure as corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft starting in July 2025. Before that, he spent 16 years at Google, where he led engineering for the Gemini Assistant.
Apple will redistribute the remainder of Giannandrea’s organization to Sabih Khan and Eddy Cue to better align related teams. Federighi’s group will take on broader AI responsibilities with Subramanya’s arrival, consolidating operational control of foundation-model and safety work under his leadership.
Strategy and Market Reaction
Tim Cook said in a press release at 5:10 p.m. ET on Dec. 1, 2025, that AI has long been central to Apple’s strategy. He noted Subramanya’s expertise in AI and machine-learning research and his ability to integrate research into products will be important to Apple Intelligence, including efforts to deliver a more personalized Siri next year.
Apple shares closed Monday at $283.10, up 1.5%, and traded around $283.26 in after-hours trading shortly before 6:00 p.m. ET, up 0.1%. The leadership change coincides with ongoing efforts to advance Apple’s AI capabilities amid prior reports of challenges in Siri’s development.
