Posted on October 27, 2025
Word on the street in Silicon Valley is that Meta snagged Ruoming Pang, one of Apple’s top AI guys. The deal? Apparently worth over $200 million in salary, stock, and bonuses. Before this, Pang was leading Apple’s team behind core AI tech that powers Apple Intelligence and the new cool Siri features. Now, he’s jumping into Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, where they’re trying to build AI that’s as smart as, or smarter than, us humans.
This big move just shows how crazy the fight for AI talent is between these monster tech companies. News sources say that Pang ditching Apple for Meta is typical: Meta is going after top engineers from other companies to help make their AI dreams a reality. A couple of other Apple AI researchers, Mark Lee and Tom Gunter, also joined Meta recently. Looks like Zuckerberg’s plan to take over the whole AI thing might actually be working.
For Meta, this isn’t just about getting another engineer; it’s a smart move. Pang knows a lot about making large-language models bigger and adding AI to everyday products. This should help Meta move faster toward self-learning systems and smart apps for Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. Some people think he could give Meta a real advantage in basic AI research. Right now, OpenAI and Google DeepMind are the big players there.
On the flip side, Apple is in a tough spot. Losing someone like Pang shows they have some problems inside their AI group. Things like slow progress and not being as open as other companies. Apple is using companies like OpenAI to make Siri and iOS better, but people are starting to wonder if they can keep up in the fast-moving AI game.
People in the know say that Meta is willing to pay big bucks, which shows how seriously they’re taking this AI battle. Apple needs to rethink not just how much they pay, but how they encourage new ideas. Otherwise, they might lose more of their best people to companies with bigger plans and better rewards.
Expect more crazy changes in AI hiring soon. Meta will probably keep building up its Superintelligence Labs team while Apple rushes to find new AI leaders and keep the people they have. For the tech world, this whole situation proves that brains are super valuable in the age of AI, and the companies that get them will be the ones calling the shots later.