John Giannandrea Leaves Apple: AI in Crisis

The end of an era is looming at Apple with the definitive departure of John Giannandrea, the former head of artificial intelligence (AI) at the company. This departure symbolizes Apple's failure in a field where Silicon Valley places great hopes. Giannandrea, who joined Apple after his time at Google, is leaving his position this week, marking a turning point for the Cupertino firm.

Last year, Apple experienced an almost unprecedented wave of departures within its ranks. Among the notable figures, Alan Dye, head of design, left Apple to join Meta. However, it is in the AI sector that the departures have been most significant. Several renowned researchers have left the company, and John Giannandrea was pushed out by Tim Cook, Apple's CEO.

Although the announcement of his departure was only made in December, the reduction of his role in overseeing AI had already begun in March 2025. The reasons for this sidelining include the disappointing launch of Apple Intelligence and delays in the highly anticipated update of Siri, especially in the era of generative AI. Giannandrea, who oversaw the Siri, robotics, and foundational models teams, was kept on as an advisor until April 15, when he completes his "rest and vest" period. This common practice in the tech industry allows employees to remain officially in their positions without real responsibilities while their stock options mature.

Giannandrea's responsibilities have been redistributed among Craig Federighi, Eddy Cue, and Sabih Khan, while Mike Rockwell has taken over the leadership of Siri. Apple has also recruited Amar Subramanya, a former employee of Google and Microsoft, as vice president of AI, reporting to Federighi.

Giannandrea spent eight years at Apple, but his departure highlights the complexity of the company's leadership. According to journalist Mark Gurman, Apple operates like a small family business with a limited number of decision-makers. Those who are not part of this inner circle do not have the power to initiate real changes.

Apple is now under pressure to evolve Siri through a contract with Gemini, with innovations expected at WWDC 2026. This partnership is set to enable the voice assistant to benefit from new features, thus meeting the growing expectations of users and the market.