Meta Platforms has confirmed the hiring of Mark Lee and Tom Gunter, both former AI researchers at Apple, as part of its fast-growing Superintelligence Labs division, according to Bloomberg and Reuters sources
- Mark Lee has officially begun working at Meta, leaving Apple in recent days
- Tom Gunter, also a senior member of Apple’s AI team, is expected to join Meta soon
This move follows Meta’s earlier recruitment of Ruoming Pang, who previously led Apple’s foundation models team, drawing attention with a multiyear contract reportedly worth more than $200 million
🔧 What Makes These Hires Strategic?
- Deep Expertise at Apple: Lee and Gunter worked closely with Pang on Apple’s Foundation Models group, which built advanced AI capabilities for upcoming Apple Intelligence features and Siri enhancements
- Superintelligence Goals: These hires strengthen Meta’s ambition to build Artificial General Intelligence (AGI)—AI systems capable of outperforming humans across various domains
📈 Meta’s AI Ambitions & Talent Strategy
- Elite Hiring Spree: Meta is rapidly recruiting from competitors, including OpenAI, Google DeepMind, Anthropic, and Apple, offering multimillion‑dollar packages and even $100M+ signing bonuses
- Massive Infrastructure Buildout: CEO Mark Zuckerberg has pledged to invest hundreds of billions of dollars into new data centers, and Meta plans to deploy over 1.3 million GPUs by year-end to support its AI labs
📌 Implications for Apple & the AI Ecosystem
- Apple AI Disruption: The poaching of Pang, Lee, and Gunter signals turbulence within Apple’s Foundation Models division. Apple has reportedly begun offering retention raises to over 100 team members, but these remain well below what Meta is offering Analytics India Magazine
- Talent War Dynamics: OpenAI executives have likened Meta’s recruitment strategy to aggressive raids, while Meta’s own CTO has pushed back, calling some reports of excessively large offers exaggerated
✅ Summary
- Meta has strengthened its Superintelligence Labs by hiring Mark Lee and Tom Gunter, following Ruoming Pang’s earlier defection from Apple.
- The move underlines Meta’s strategy of aggressively recruiting top-tier AI talent from rivals to pioneer AGI development.
- Apple faces growing internal challenges within its AI team as Meta continues to invest heavily—financially and ambition-wise—into becoming a leader in next-gen artificial intelligence.
