Apple Inc. has decided to remove its secret robotics unit from the jurisdiction of its artificial intelligence chief, marking a recent shift in strategy aimed at addressing the company’s challenges in AI. The relocation of the robotics team from John Giannandrea’s AI division to the hardware department will occur later this month. It will then fall under Senior Vice President John Ternus, who is responsible for overseeing hardware engineering, according to sources familiar with the matter.
This adjustment represents the second significant project removed from Giannandrea’s control in the past month. In March, Apple reassigned the struggling Siri voice assistant away from his oversight. These changes are part of a broader initiative to enhance Apple’s standing in the artificial intelligence field, an area where the company has lagged behind competitors such as Alphabet Inc.’s Google and OpenAI.
Despite these shifts, Giannandrea, previously with Google and now serving as Senior Vice President of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Strategy at Apple, continues to lead the majority of the company’s AI efforts. The realignment aims to allow his team to concentrate more on foundational AI technology.
Apple, headquartered in Cupertino, California, declined to provide any comment on the developments.
The Siri engineering team is now under Mike Rockwell, who formerly led hardware and software development for the Vision Pro headset. Rockwell continues to oversee visionOS, the operating system for the headset. Recent reports indicate he is restructuring Siri’s management, bringing in senior members from the Vision Pro team.
Conversely, the robotics team operates behind the scenes at Apple, exploring ways to integrate AI technologies into devices, potentially leading to a new product category. This team, led by experienced executive Kevin Lynch, is presently focusing on developing a tabletop robot with the ability to maneuver using an artificial limb to interact with an iPad-like display. Future endeavors may include mobile machines akin to Amazon’s Astro, designed for telepresence, allowing for videoconferencing capabilities.
As robotics rapidly emerges as an exciting sector in Silicon Valley, companies like Tesla Inc. and Meta Platforms Inc. are heavily investing in this field. Apple’s previous setbacks in generative AI, the discontinuation of its self-driving car project, and its late entry into the smart home market underscore its urgency not to miss out on another critical AI-driven area.
Top executives at Apple express confidence in Ternus’ capability to handle the robotics project. The esteemed executive, seen as a potential successor to CEO Tim Cook, already leads hardware engineering for key products like the iPhone, iPad, and Mac.
Currently, Ternus supervises a hardware engineering team led by Matt Costello and Brian Lynch, focusing on robotics and smart home technologies. The reorganization suggests Apple is intensifying efforts in these domains by aligning related teams under a singular direction.
Additionally, relocating Lynch’s team grants Ternus responsibility over important AI operating systems and algorithms groups, which typically fall outside the hardware engineering realm. Ternus briefly managed the Vision Pro software unit until its move back to the software engineering sector, coinciding with the management changes for Siri.
For Giannandrea, this alteration signifies another reduction in authority following delays in key Siri updates and mixed reviews of the Apple Intelligence platform. This year alone, his domain has declined substantially, with many engineers transitioning to Ternus, Rockwell, and software leader Craig Federighi. These changes reflect a strategic decision by CEO Tim Cook, who is reportedly dissatisfied with Giannandrea’s product development execution.
While these adjustments liberate Giannandrea’s team to develop underlying models for future Apple products like Apple Intelligence and Siri enhancements, the group’s performance has faced criticism. Internally referred to as “AI/MLess” by some employees, recent months have seen frustration over delayed Siri features and a perceived lackadaisical work attitude. In a recent all-hands meeting, previous Siri head under Giannandrea, Robby Walker, described the situation as “ugly” and “embarrassing.”
Despite these challenges, Giannandrea has given no indication of an imminent departure. Nonetheless, the ongoing reassignment of responsibilities suggests Apple might be contemplating a future without him leading its AI initiatives. After consolidating Apple’s AI teams under Giannandrea eight years ago, the possibility of dissolving this unified group is becoming increasingly plausible, according to informed sources.
This article was originally published on Fortune.com.
