Apple’s head of artificial intelligence, John Giannandrea, will step down from his position, the company announced on Monday.

The move is the most visible shakeup in Apple’s artificial intelligence group since the company announced Apple Intelligence, its AI software suite, in 2024.

Apple Intelligence, which was intended to put Apple alongside AI leaders like OpenAI and Google, has not been well-reviewed by users and critics. Earlier this year, one of its most critical aspects, a significantly improved Siri assistant, was delayed until 2026, signaling development challenges.

Giannandrea will be replaced by Amar Subramanya, an AI researcher who most recently worked for Microsoft. Before that, he worked at Google’s DeepMind, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Subramanya will be Apple’s vice president of AI, the company said, and will report to software chief Craig Federighi. Giannandrea, who joined Apple in 2018, was a senior vice president and reported to Apple CEO Tim Cook. Apple said Giannandrea would remain as an advisor until next spring.

In a statement, Cook said that Federighi already played a key role in Apple’s AI efforts. Federighi is Apple’s top software executive.

“In addition to growing his leadership team and AI responsibilities with Amar’s joining, Craig has been instrumental in driving our AI efforts, including overseeing our work to bring a more personalized Siri to users next year,” Cook said in a statement.

Subramanya will lead teams at Apple working on the company’s foundation models, research, and AI safety, the company said.

Apple shares, which are up 16% in 2025 so far, have lagged many other big technology companies as investors have perceived Apple as falling behind companies that are investing billions in AI chips and frontier model chatbots.

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