Apple AI Chief John Giannandrea Set to Exit This Week

The departure marks the end of an eight-year tenure marked by Siri delays and the underwhelming rollout of Apple Intelligence, with responsibilities already redistributed across senior leadership.

John Giannandrea, Apple Inc.’s head of artificial intelligence, is expected to leave the company this week, with his final days tied to a stock vesting date on April 15, Bloomberg reported.

Giannandrea joined Apple from Google in 2018, where he had led machine learning and AI research. Apple brought him in to overhaul Siri and accelerate the company’s broader AI ambitions. Neither goal landed on schedule.

ALSO READ: Faraday Future Ships 12 More EAI Robots, Eyes 200-Unit Quarter

In March 2025, Apple stripped Giannandrea of oversight of Siri, robotics, and several other AI teams following the muted reception to Apple Intelligence, the company’s generative AI feature suite introduced the prior year, and the repeated delays of a promised Siri upgrade. Mike Rockwell took over Siri at that point. 

By December 2025, Apple had confirmed Giannandrea’s planned retirement in a press release, formalizing what had already taken effect operationally. Since then, he has served in an advisory capacity. His remaining responsibilities, foundation model development, AI testing, and related functions, were distributed among software chief Craig Federighi, services head Eddy Cue, and operating chief Sabih Khan, per Bloomberg’s reporting.

It’s unclear whether Giannandrea will take on a formal role elsewhere in the technology industry. Reports indicate he does not plan to join another major technology company in the near term.

The exit arrives as Apple works to sharpen its AI strategy ahead of its annual Worldwide Developers Conference, expected this summer. The company has been in discussions to integrate Google’s Gemini AI into Siri, a partnership that would mark a significant shift toward third-party AI services rather than exclusively in-house development.

Apple’s AI difficulties over the past 18 months have drawn sustained scrutiny. Apple Intelligence, announced at WWDC 2024, drew criticism for delivering features incrementally and behind the timelines the company had signaled. Siri, despite years of investment, has not closed the capability gap with newer conversational AI systems from competitors.

Giannandrea’s departure is part of a wider leadership transition at Apple. Chief Operating Officer Jeff Williams announced his retirement earlier, and design chief Alan Dye also exited recently, according to published reports.

Disclaimer: This report is based on publicly available information. NervNow has not independently verified the claims.

MORE ON AI 
Adobe Firefly vs Krita: Why Pay for AI Design Tools When Free Options Exist?
Harvard Meets Bairong: Chinese AI Firm Bets Big on Silicon-Based Employees
Intel and Google Expand Multi-Year Partnership to Scale AI Infrastructure
Oracle Embeds AI Agents Into Its Financial Crime Compliance Platform
Kyndryl Launches AI Digital Twin for Workplace Operations