Who is Amar Subramanya? Apple taps ex- Microsoft & Google AI executive to replace retiring chief John Giannandrea
Apple announced a major leadership change in its artificial intelligence division, appointing former Microsoft and Google executive Amar Subramanya to replace long-serving AI chief John Giannandrea. The transition marks the most significant change in Apple’s AI rankings since the launch of the Apple Intelligence suite in 2024 and comes at a time when the company is facing intense scrutiny over its position in the AI race.
Why is Apple changing its AI leadership now?
John Giannandrea, who joined Apple in 2018 and served as Senior Vice President of Machine Learning and AI Strategy, will leave his position and retire next spring. Apple said he will remain a consultant until then.
The decision comes at a time when pressure is mounting on Apple; analysts and industry experts increasingly claim that the company has surpassed rivals such as Microsoft, Google, and Meta in developing advanced artificial intelligence.
Apple Intelligence, which aims to reassert Apple as a competitive force following the AI resurgence triggered by ChatGPT in 2022, has struggled to impress.
Users and critics gave the system lukewarm reviews, and one of the system’s most important features, the significantly improved Siri assistant, was delayed until 2026. The delay was widely seen as evidence of internal development hurdles.
Who is Amar Subramanya?
Amar Subramanya is an artificial intelligence researcher with a career spanning some of the world’s most influential technology companies. According to his LinkedIn profile, before joining Apple, he most recently worked at Microsoft and previously spent time at Google’s DeepMind unit, one of the industry’s leading artificial intelligence research groups.
Subramanya will assume the role of Vice President of Artificial Intelligence at Apple and will report directly to the company’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering, Craig Federighi. Apple confirmed that he will lead teams responsible for core models, AI research and AI security, while responsibilities previously overseen by Giannandrea will be redistributed by Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan and services chief Eddy Cue.
In a statement praising the structural change, Apple CEO Tim Cook said Federighi had already been “instrumental” in driving the company’s AI goals. “In addition to growing the leadership team and AI responsibilities with the addition of Amar, Craig has been instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to deliver a more personalized Siri to users next year,” Cook said.
Is Apple falling behind its AI rivals?
Although Apple shares are up 16 percent in 2025, it still lags behind its tech peers, many of whom have invested billions of dollars in AI data centers, custom chips and edge-scale models. Analysts argue that Apple’s more conservative approach to infrastructure investments has caused the company to catch up.
Apple has emphasized that it has “significantly increased” its spending on AI, and Cook has repeatedly described AI as a “deep” technology. The company also struck a deal with OpenAI to integrate ChatGPT into its products, including Siri.
But Apple remains committed to a different strategy: opting for on-device processing over cloud-based computing, a choice that prioritizes privacy and efficiency but requires highly optimized models.
How does this shift fit into Apple’s broader AI goals?
The company’s artificial intelligence story in 2025 has been shaped not only by internal restructuring but also by external developments. Jony Ive, Apple’s former chief designer and one of the architects of the iPhone, sold his hardware startup to OpenAI for $6.4 billion with plans to help the AI lab develop its own hardware. Ive and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said the first prototypes have already been completed and could be released within two years.
This raises questions about how Apple will maintain its hardware dominance as rivals accelerate towards AI-specific devices.
Industry analysts suggest that Apple has built an unparalleled loyalty moat since the iPhone’s debut in 2007, but the next big hardware shift could be driven by artificial intelligence rather than traditional mobile innovation, and leadership changes like Subramanya’s could be particularly consequential.
