John Giannandrea Leaves Apple After AI Strategy Struggles as New Leadership Steps In

Apple is entering a new era of leadership in artificial intelligence. The company has announced that John Giannandrea, senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, is stepping down after years of mixed progress in Apple’s AI roadmap. He will remain as an advisor before officially retiring in spring 2026, but the transition to new leadership is already underway.

For anyone following Apple’s delayed Siri overhaul, shifting AI priorities and its late entry into generative models, this move is not entirely unexpected.

Apple Confirms Giannandrea’s Departure

Apple broke the news in a press release that outlines its updated AI leadership structure:

“Apple today announced John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior vice president for Machine Learning and AI Strategy, is stepping down from his position and will serve as an advisor to the company before retiring in the spring of 2026.”

Giannandrea joined Apple in 2018 after leaving Google, quickly rising to one of the most important roles inside the company. His organization oversaw machine learning, Siri, on-device intelligence and the earliest foundations of Apple’s generative AI efforts. That role now shifts to a new leader brought in from Microsoft.

Amar Subramanya Steps In as VP of AI

Apple has hired Amar Subramanya, a respected AI researcher who previously served as corporate vice president of AI at Microsoft and spent sixteen years at Google before that. Subramanya will serve as Apple’s new vice president of AI, reporting directly to Craig Federighi.

From the announcement:

“Subramanya will be leading critical areas, including Apple Foundation Models, ML research, and AI Safety and Evaluation.”

Siri itself will continue to be overseen by Mike Rockwell, who also reports to Federighi. The remainder of Giannandrea’s teams will shift under Sabih Khan and Eddy Cue to bring their work closer to existing Apple product groups.

Subramanya’s experience is broad. At Google he served as head of engineering for Google’s Gemini Assistant and helped shape some of the company’s most ambitious AI research. Apple calls out his deep experience in both foundational model development and shipping features at massive scale.

Tim Cook Thanks Giannandrea and Welcomes New Leadership

Apple CEO Tim Cook offered praise for Giannandrea’s work and emphasized how central AI will be to Apple’s future.

“We are thankful for the role John played in building and advancing our AI work, helping Apple continue to innovate and enrich the lives of our users,” Cook said.

He also highlighted Subramanya’s arrival:

“AI has long been central to Apple’s strategy, and we are pleased to welcome Amar to Craig’s leadership team and to bring his extraordinary AI expertise to Apple.”

Cook confirmed that Federighi continues to guide Apple’s broader AI strategy, including the work to deliver a more personalized Siri next year.

Apple’s AI Reset After Years of Missteps

Giannandrea helped shape Apple’s approach to AI at a time when generative models were still emerging. But as competitors rapidly embraced large AI models, Apple found itself reacting rather than leading. Under his leadership, Apple was slow to adopt generative AI and initially downplayed its importance. That delay set the stage for one of the company’s most significant catch-up efforts.

Apple eventually announced a suite of generative features known collectively as Apple Intelligence, which has rolled out in stages across Apple’s platforms. Many parts of Apple Intelligence have launched and evolved, but the most ambitious project of all has become the company’s biggest challenge.

The Siri Overhaul Delay Defined the Breaking Point

Apple revealed a fully rebuilt version of Siri in June 2024, promising a dramatically more capable assistant in iOS 18. The updated Siri relied heavily on Apple’s in-house generative models. But after internal testing and structural concerns, Apple quietly delayed the release until 2026.

The fix involves a major shift in strategy. Apple is now turning to Google’s Gemini model to power the advanced version of Siri instead of relying solely on Apple’s own foundational models. It was one of the most surprising pivots Apple has made in years.

The executive responsible for Siri’s overhaul, Robby Walker, also left Apple earlier this year after his team was reorganized.

The new Siri experience is now expected to arrive in spring 2026 as part of iOS 26.4, placing the launch around the same time Giannandrea completes his retirement from Apple.

A Pivotal Moment for Apple’s AI Future

Giannandrea’s exit marks the end of a chapter in Apple’s AI story, one defined by incremental machine learning gains but delayed generative breakthroughs. Subramanya’s arrival signals Apple’s intent to accelerate its AI development and finally compete at the same pace as Microsoft, Google and OpenAI.

With Apple Intelligence expanding, a rewritten Siri in development and a new leader responsible for foundational models, the next few years will determine whether Apple can regain momentum in a field that is evolving at high speed.