Talent thaw? Meta hires 6th Apple AI researcher in 7 weeks despite freeze

Meta has hired Frank Chu, its sixth AI researcher from Apple in just seven weeks, continuing an aggressive talent acquisition campaign despite implementing a company-wide hiring freeze. Chu, who led Apple’s AI teams focused on cloud infrastructure, training and search, will join Meta’s newly created Superintelligence Labs, highlighting the intensifying competition for top AI talent as Apple struggles to retain key personnel amid growing concerns about its AI strategy.

The big picture: Meta’s targeted poaching of Apple’s AI talent reflects a broader Silicon Valley battle for artificial intelligence expertise, with companies willing to break their own hiring policies to secure top researchers.

Key details: The hiring spree began when Meta recruited Ruoming Pang, Apple’s lead at the foundation models team, who then helped attract his former colleagues to Meta’s AI division.

• Meta has undergone four AI organizational reshuffles in six months to accommodate new hires and align with its AI vision.
• The company’s hiring freeze followed a Forbes report claiming internal chaos was causing defections from Meta’s own AI teams.
• Chu will work within Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, CEO Mark Zuckerberg’s star-packed AI division.

Apple’s mounting challenges: The talent exodus comes at a critical time for Apple, which is facing both internal struggles and public perception that it’s falling behind in AI development.

• CEO Tim Cook recently called a company-wide meeting to address Apple’s AI challenges after fielding AI-related questions during the company’s Q3 2025 earnings call.
• Cook promised Apple would “make the investment” to catch up on AI, though the brain drain shows no signs of slowing.
• The defections add to mounting pressure on Apple to demonstrate competitive AI capabilities.

Why this matters: The talent migration from Apple to Meta signals deeper structural issues in how established tech giants are competing in the AI era, where specialized expertise has become the most valuable currency in Silicon Valley’s ongoing transformation.