MW Apple is making a big shakeup as it looks for an edge in AI

By Emily Bary

Apple has brought in an outsider who will lead the company's efforts in machine-learning research and foundation models

Apple's stock has lagged behind the broad market this year.

Apple is perceived to be behind the curve in artificial intelligence, and it's now bringing in an outsider to shake things up.

The company announced Monday afternoon that "renowned AI researcher" Amar Subramanya has joined the company and will serve as vice president of AI. He spent just a few months at Microsoft $(MSFT)$, according to his LinkedIn profile, and before that worked at Google for 16 years.

"His deep expertise in both AI and [machine-learning] research and in integrating that research into products and features will be important to Apple's ongoing innovation and future Apple Intelligence features," Apple $(AAPL)$ said in a release.

The company noted that Subramanya led engineering for Google Gemini before leaving Alphabet $(GOOG)$ $(GOOGL)$.

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Subramanya in some ways replaces John Giannandrea, who is stepping down from his role and moving to an advisory capacity until the spring, at which point he'll retire. Apple noted that Subramanya will be responsible for Apple's foundation models, machine-learning research and AI-safety initiatives, while some of Giannandrea's former areas of oversight will fall to other Apple leaders.

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Apple has taken a different approach to artificial intelligence than its peers, leveraging partnerships and staying disciplined on capital expenditures. The company has struggled to roll out AI features in the way it initially promised, and shares have lagged behind the S&P 500 SPX so far this year.

"The real root of the problem is Apple doesn't know what its AI strategy is," Seaport Research analyst Jay Goldberg told MarketWatch last week.

It remains to be seen whether Subramanya will usher in an era of heavier spending at Apple or lean into partnerships, including with his former employers.

On Apple's last earnings call, CFO Kevan Parekh discussed the company's hybrid data-center approach. "I don't see us moving away from this hybrid model where we leverage both first-party capacity as well as leverage third-party capacity," he said.

Parekh also noted that the company has increased capital expenditures recently to support the buildout of Private Cloud Compute, which is meant to ensure users' AI data is processed securely.

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-Emily Bary

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December 01, 2025 18:00 ET (23:00 GMT)

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