Amar Subramanya, an AI researcher with an impressive career spanning some of the world's most influential technology companies, has been appointed as Apple’s new Vice President of AI. This significant leadership change comes as Apple aims to strengthen its position in the artificial intelligence race and prepare a revamped Siri for 2026. Subramanya succeeds John Giannandrea, who will be retiring in the spring of 2026 and will serve as an advisor to the company until then.

Subramanya's appointment signals a determined effort by Apple to bolster its AI capabilities. CEO Tim Cook expressed his confidence in Federighi's leadership and welcomed Subramanya's expertise, emphasizing AI's central role in Apple's strategy. Cook highlighted Federighi's instrumental role in driving AI efforts, including overseeing the development of a more personalized Siri for users next year.

Before joining Apple, Subramanya held key roles at Microsoft and spent 16 years at Google, including a stint at Google's DeepMind unit, a leading AI research group. Most recently, he served as Corporate Vice President of AI at Microsoft. At Google, he was Head of Engineering for the Gemini Assistant. His move to Microsoft was announced in July 2025, where he lauded Microsoft's "low-ego, high-ambition" culture and AI innovations like Copilot.

Subramanya holds a Bachelor of Engineering degree in Electrical, Electronics, and Communication Engineering from Bangalore University (1997–2001). He later earned a PhD from the University of Washington between 2005 and 2009, where he focused on developing semi-supervised learning algorithms for speech and human activity recognition. He also worked at Microsoft Research during his graduate studies. Subramanya was a recipient of the Microsoft Research Graduate Fellowship in 2007.

In his new role at Apple, Subramanya will report to Craig Federighi, Apple’s Senior Vice President of Software Engineering. He will lead teams responsible for critical areas such as Apple Foundation Models, Machine Learning (ML) research, and AI Safety and Evaluation. Responsibilities previously overseen by Giannandrea will be redistributed under Chief Operating Officer Sabih Khan and Services Chief Eddy Cue.

The leadership change occurs during a period of heightened pressure for Apple, as analysts and industry experts suggest the company is lagging behind rivals like Microsoft, Google, and Meta in advanced AI development. Apple Intelligence, introduced in June 2024, has received lukewarm reviews, and the enhanced Siri assistant has been delayed until 2026, indicating internal development challenges. Apple hopes Subramanya's expertise will help to reassert the company as a competitive force in the AI landscape.

Giannandrea, who joined Apple in 2018, played a key role in building and advancing Apple's AI work. His team was responsible for Apple Foundation Models, Search and Knowledge, ML Research, and AI Infrastructure.

Apple's reshuffle underscores the urgency with which it is addressing its AI strategy. The company aims to integrate AI more effectively across its product ecosystem. With Subramanya's experience in large-scale AI development, Apple seeks to bridge its hardware-software synergy with advanced machine learning capabilities.