Overview

• Meta confirmed that Jian Zhang, Apple’s lead AI researcher for robotics, has joined the Meta Robotics Studio within Reality Labs.
• Three more Apple Foundation Models researchers — John Peebles and Nan Du to OpenAI, and Zhao Meng to Anthropic — departed in the past week.
• Bloomberg reporting says Apple’s Foundation Models team has lost roughly 10 members in recent weeks, including its chief Ruoming Pang, who left for a multiyear package reportedly worth $200 million at Meta.
• Meta has reorganized its AI efforts into four groups under Alexandr Wang after a $14.3 billion Scale AI stake, with reported hiring controls following rapid recruitment and integration strains.
• Several high-profile hires to Meta’s Superintelligence Labs have already quit or returned to prior employers, underscoring retention challenges despite reported nine-figure offers.