- Paul Meade, the VP of hardware engineering for Apple‘s Vision Pro and smart glasses, is leaving the company for OpenAI‘s consumer hardware unit.
- His exit is a major blow to Apple’s AR/VR division, as he was leading key projects including AI-powered smart glasses expected by late 2027.
- OpenAI is aggressively recruiting Apple’s top hardware talent, with Meade joining a growing roster of former Cupertino executives at the AI firm.
- The departure follows a controversial reorganization of Apple’s hardware engineering led by chip chief Johny Srouji.
- Retail sentiment on Apple stock was ‘bullish’ with chatter soaring over 600% in the week ending June 27.
Apple Inc.’s top hardware executive for its Vision Pro headset and smart glasses initiative is departing for rival OpenAI next week, Bloomberg reported. Paul Meade, a 15-year veteran, will join OpenAI’s expanding consumer hardware division to help design a new family of AI-powered devices. This move continues a significant brain drain of Apple’s design talent to the Artificial Intelligence leader.
Meade’s exit represents a substantial setback for Apple’s spatial computing and augmented reality platforms. He had been spearheading engineering for future augmented reality wearables, including smart glasses intended to compete with Meta Platforms Inc.. Consequently, his longtime deputy, Fletcher Rothkopf, will inherit Meade’s critical hardware responsibilities for these projects.
OpenAI’s recruitment of Meade adds to its growing roster of elite former Apple executives. His decision coincides with extensive structural changes within Apple’s hardware engineering ranks, following a reorganization spearheaded by silicon chief Johny Srouji. However, neither Apple nor OpenAI has publicly commented on this high-profile personnel change.
Meanwhile, retail investor chatter on Apple stock surged over 600% in the week ending June 27, with sentiment trending ‘bullish’. AAPL stock gained about 3% on the day of the report but ended the week 4% lower overall. The stock has posted a 4% gain year-to-date.
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