The AI race in Silicon Valley just witnessed its most seismic leadership change yet. In a shock move that signals a full-scale reboot of the company’s intelligence strategy, tech giant Apple has announced that Amar Subramanya takes over Apple AI as the new Vice President of AI. This comes as veteran AI chief John Giannandrea steps aside from his leadership role, transitioning to an advisory position before his official retirement in Spring 2026.
This is more than just a personnel change; it’s Apple’s tacit admission that its previous approach to Generative AI was too slow, leaving its flagship assistant, Siri, embarrassingly behind rivals like ChatGPT, Microsoft Copilot, and Google’s own Gemini. The latest news confirms that Cupertino is now bringing in a proven heavy hitter—a man who was once the head of engineering for the Gemini assistant—to accelerate its foundational AI work.
The Siri Crisis: Why Giannandrea Had To Go
The timing of this shake-up couldn’t be more critical. Apple has faced mounting criticism for its glacial pace in releasing true generative AI features. While competitors are integrating AI into every corner of their products, Apple’s much-hyped “Apple Intelligence” platform, unveiled in 2024, has been met with lukewarm reviews.
The breaking point was the much-anticipated overhaul of Siri. The dramatic, promised upgrade—which would allow Siri to understand personal context and integrate seamlessly with apps—was quietly delayed until 2026 after reportedly failing internal quality tests. This delay, coupled with an exodus of talent from Apple’s AI teams, signalled to the market that the strategy under Giannandrea, while focused on privacy and on-device machine learning, was simply not competitive enough in the fast-moving AI frontier.
John Giannandrea, who joined Apple from Google in 2018, is credited with building the AI and Machine Learning division from the ground up, but the pressure to deliver a breakthrough product, particularly a working next-gen Siri, ultimately proved too much.
The New Kingmaker: From Bangalore to the Head of Gemini
Apple didn’t just hire a replacement; it poached a superstar from the heart of its biggest rivals. The story of Amar Subramanya is the quintessential Indian-origin success story in Silicon Valley.
- Bangalore Roots: Subramanya earned his Bachelor of Engineering degree from Bangalore University, laying the foundation for his formidable career.
- The Google Era: He spent a massive 16 years at Google, where he became one of the key architects of the search giant’s current AI dominance. His most critical role was serving as the head of engineering for the Gemini assistant, the multi-modal AI model that has become Google’s flagship product. This experience in building scalable, consumer-facing AI systems is exactly what Apple needs to fix its product delivery problem.
- The Microsoft Detour: In a move that epitomized the current AI talent war, Subramanya briefly left Google for Microsoft in July 2025, serving as the Corporate Vice President of AI. His stay at Redmond was short—less than six months—before Tim Cook successfully lured him to Cupertino. This rapid-fire move highlights just how desperate Apple was to secure his expertise.
Subramanya is known for his ability to translate complex machine learning research into practical, usable consumer products—a blend of skills that has been sorely lacking in Apple’s AI department.
The Massive Mandate: Fixing Siri and Foundation Models
Subramanya’s new role as Vice President of AI will report directly to Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering. This change itself is telling: it centralizes the future of Apple Foundation Models and AI development under the software chief, ensuring that AI is product-driven, not just research-driven.
Subramanya’s immediate mandate includes:
- Foundation Models: Overseeing the development of Apple Foundation Models—the core AI brains that will power all future “Apple Intelligence” features. He must accelerate the development of Apple’s rumoured in-house 1-trillion-parameter model.
- The Gemini Irony: Guiding the strategic (and somewhat embarrassing) decision to integrate Google’s Gemini model into Siri for complex queries—a deal reportedly worth $1 billion. Subramanya’s past experience on the Gemini project gives him unparalleled insight into making this strategic pivot work.
- AI Safety: Leading Machine Learning Research and AI Safety and Evaluation, ensuring Apple maintains its core privacy commitment while delivering powerful new features.
With Amar Subramanya takes over Apple AI, the company is staking its future on his ability to quickly close the massive AI gap. John Giannandrea steps aside as the old guard exits, making way for a new leadership that promises aggression and product focus.
This is the moment of truth. If the Gemini architect can’t rebuild Siri, then it may be time for Apple to admit that its once “invisible” AI strategy is simply not working. The latest news confirms the heat is on in Cupertino.
Ashish Rai is a professional automotive writer with four years of experience crafting reviews, features, and technical guides. Passionate about vehicles, he translates complex engineering concepts into engaging content. Covering market trends, EV developments, and driving experiences, Ashish delivers insightful, reader-friendly articles that ignite automotive enthusiasm worldwide consistently with integrity.
