Apple’s AI brain drain continues as a former Siri boss heads for the exit

Robby Walker, a senior artificial intelligence executive who previously led the Siri team, is reportedly leaving Apple next month, marking another significant departure as the company struggles to keep pace in the AI race. First reported by Bloomberg, Walker’s exit comes after the high-profile delay of Siri’s next-generation overhaul and as Apple continues to lose top AI talent to rivals like Meta.

Siri’s troubled reboot

Until earlier this year, Walker was the senior director in charge of Siri. However, oversight for the voice assistant was shifted to software chief Craig Federighi after Apple publicly postponed its ambitious Siri revamp, which was meant to be a cornerstone of its Apple Intelligence platform. The updated, more capable version of Siri is now not expected until 2026.

Following the delay, Walker reportedly gave a pep talk to the Siri team, comparing the effort to a record-setting swim that ultimately failed to reach its destination. According to 9to5Mac, he said, “We swam hundreds of miles… but we still didn’t swim to Hawaii,” acknowledging that the feature did not yet meet Apple’s quality standards. After the leadership change, Walker moved to a team developing an AI search project called Answers, which remains on track for a 2026 release.

An exodus of AI talent

Walker’s departure is the latest in a string of high-profile exits from Apple’s AI division. The company has recently lost several key figures to competitors, particularly Meta, which has been on an aggressive hiring spree with lucrative pay packages. Those who have left include Ruoming Pang, who led the AI models team, robotics research head Jian Zhang, and senior search executive Frank Chu, all of whom joined Meta.

The intense competition for top researchers reflects a broader AI talent war across Silicon Valley. Meta has reportedly offered some experts pay packages worth hundreds of millions of dollars, creating a “revolving door” of talent and fueling internal resentment at the company. For Apple, this trend presents a major challenge as it tries to close the gap with its rivals.

Apple plays catch-up

While Apple has integrated AI features into its software with Apple Intelligence, the company is widely seen as playing catch-up to Google and OpenAI. To bolster its own delayed efforts, Apple has turned to partners. The company already integrates OpenAI’s ChatGPT into its operating systems and has been rumored to be in talks with Google to potentially use its Gemini model to power parts of the future Siri. This reliance on outside firms underscores the challenges Apple faces in developing its next-generation AI technologies in-house amid a turbulent period of executive departures and project delays.