Meta hires two Apple AI researchers for Superintelligence push: Report
The social media giant is among several technology companies that have struck high-profile deals and doled out multi-million-dollar pay packages to fast-track development of machines that could surpass human intelligence.
Lee recently left Apple and has started at Meta, while Gunter is set to join soon, the report said, citing people familiar with the matter.
Their exit follows Ruoming Pang, who previously left Apple for a multi-million-dollar compensation package at Meta, according to a media report earlier this month.
Lee and Gunter both worked closely with Pang, the Bloomberg report said on Thursday.
Pang was the head of Apple's Foundation Models team and responsible for advanced AI features, sources have told Reuters.
A Meta spokesperson declined to comment on the report, while Apple did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg said on Monday that his social media platform would spend hundreds of billions of dollars to build several massive AI data centres.
In recent weeks, Zuckerberg has personally led an aggressive talent raid in the pursuit to create a division called Superintelligence Labs.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Mint
6 hours ago
- Mint
Spotify to raise Premium subscription price in multiple regions from September: New pricing details
Spotify has announced plans to raise the price of its Premium Individual subscription in several global markets, effective from September. The monthly fee will increase from €10.99 to €11.99 in regions including South Asia, the Middle East, Africa, Europe, Latin America, and Asia-Pacific. The streaming company confirmed that subscribers would receive email notifications detailing the change over the coming month. The move is part of Spotify's broader strategy to strengthen its profit margins. This follows previous price adjustments and a series of cost-cutting measures that have contributed to the company's first annual profit in 2024. Despite a rise in both monthly active users and paying subscribers during the second quarter, Spotify reported a quarterly loss attributed to higher taxes tied to employee compensation. The tax impact has also led to a more cautious profit outlook for the third quarter. In a bid to diversify its offering and attract more users, Spotify has been increasing its video content through its Partner Program. The initiative provides podcast creators with monetisation tools and has seen a growing number of contributors, significantly boosting the platform's video catalogue. Additionally, the firm is beginning to benefit from regulatory changes in the United States. Apple has approved Spotify's app update that includes subscription pricing and external payment links, following a court ruling that blocked Apple from charging commission on off-app purchases. Spotify's CEO Daniel Ek noted that this development has resulted in a 'very positive uptick' in the US market. He added that similar regulatory shifts in Europe and the UK could further benefit Spotify and other developers. Spotify revealed that its platform now features a total of seven million podcasts, including more than 430,000 video podcast titles. In addition, it offers over 350,000 audiobooks available for one-time purchase. As of June 2025, the company employed 7,309 full-time staff across the globe. (With inputs from Reuters)
News18
6 hours ago
- News18
How Meta, Apple, Amazon & Microsoft Profit From AI While Trump Tariffs Disrupt Trade
Last Updated: Meta, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft are each leveraging AI differently. But they share a common goal: integrating AI deeply into their ecosystems to future-proof their businesses Artificial intelligence (AI) is rewriting the rules of business, and Big Tech is all in. As the world's largest technology firms double down on AI innovation and deployment, their earnings reflect a stunning transformation in both capability and strategy. Meta, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft—collectively holding trillions in market value — have made AI not just a buzzword, but a profit engine. At the same time, the global economy is entering yet another phase of volatility. With US President Donald Trump's tariff threats, protectionist policies, and global trade disruptions, investors are hedging, central banks are cautious, and industries relying on stable supply chains are bracing for impact. Yet amid all the noise, tech's AI champions are thriving. Here's how. The AI Gold Rush—And Who Is Winning The four tech giants—Meta, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft— are each leveraging AI differently. But they share a common goal: integrating AI deeply into their ecosystems to improve efficiency, increase monetisation, and future-proof their core businesses. Microsoft: The Infrastructure King In its Q2 2025 earnings, Microsoft reported a 19% increase in cloud revenue, with CEO Satya Nadella citing AI workloads as a primary driver. 'Every customer I speak with wants to adopt AI for productivity, security, and innovation," Nadella said on the earnings call. Azure's ability to host large language models, both proprietary and open-source, has made it the go-to platform for enterprise AI. Additionally, Microsoft's integration of AI into Teams, Word, and Excel via Copilot is redefining workplace productivity. Meta: AI As An Attention Engine Meta, once mocked for its metaverse pivot, has rebounded by steering into AI with surprising agility. Its open-source LLaMA models have been widely adopted by researchers and developers, giving Meta outsized influence in the open AI ecosystem. But the real monetisation is happening in advertising. Meta's AI models are now deeply embedded in ad targeting and content recommendations across Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp. According to Q2 results, AI-driven ad optimisation contributed to a 25% year-over-year growth in ad revenue—a massive leap in a sector once believed to be stagnating. 'We've had a strong quarter both in terms of our business and community," said CEO Mark Zuckerberg. 'I'm excited to build personal superintelligence for everyone in the world." On the consumer front, Meta AI (its assistant) has been rolled out across platforms and even into Ray-Ban smart glasses, further blending AI into daily life. Amazon: Retail, Cloud, and Alexa 2.0 For Amazon, AI plays a dual role—supercharging logistics and defending its cloud dominance. The company reported a 35% jump in quarterly profits as the e-commerce giant said major investments in AI technology are paying off. AWS, Amazon's cloud arm, remains a major profit engine, and its AI services are a growing part of that. From generative AI services for developers to Titan foundation models, Amazon is targeting enterprises that want flexibility without being locked into Microsoft or Google ecosystems. Meanwhile, in e-commerce, AI is streamlining fulfilment, optimising supply chains, and enabling hyper-personalized shopping experiences. Amazon's new-gen Alexa, powered by LLMs, is expected to play a bigger role in smart homes and commerce, though competition remains stiff. As per an AFP report, Amazon's net sales climbed 13%, signalling that the company has so far survived the impacts of Trump's trade policy. AWS led the charge with sales jumping 17.5% to $30.9 billion. Its strong performance reflects surging demand for cloud infrastructure to power AI applications, a trend that has benefited major cloud providers as companies race to adopt generative AI technologies. Apple: Playing The Long Game—Quietly Apple, traditionally more cautious about jumping on technology bandwagons, is finally stepping into AI visibly. At WWDC 2025, Apple Intelligence was unveiled—an ecosystem-wide integration of generative AI across iPhone, iPad, and Mac. Unlike its peers, Apple is not building chatbot-like assistants. Instead, it focuses on user-controlled, privacy-conscious AI features like Smart Recap, Writing Tools, and Genmoji. Much of the processing is done on-device or through Apple's private cloud. More importantly, Apple announced partnerships with OpenAI and Anthropic to offer choice in assistant models, a significant shift from its usually walled-garden approach. In fact, Apple beat expectations with earnings driven by strong iPhone sales despite US tariffs costing the company $800 million in the recently-ended quarter. It expects Trump's tariffs to cost the iPhone maker $1.1 billion in the current quarter. Apple's strategy is designed to boost hardware stickiness. iPhone 17 sales spiked 8% post-launch, in part due to AI feature demand. Why The Economic Anxiety Despite AI Boom Trump's Tariffs Shock The World Economy Since taking office in January , Trump has rolled out sweeping tariffs aimed at reducing the US trade deficit and boosting domestic manufacturing. These include a 10% universal tariff on all imports, with higher rates targeting key trading partners: 145% on China, 34% on Taiwan, 26% on India, 25% on Canada and Mexico, and 50% on Brazil, alongside 100% secondary tariffs on countries buying Russian energy. The US Treasury reported $87 billion in tariff revenue through June, with $26.6 billion collected in June alone, reflecting the scale of this policy shift. However, these tariffs have triggered retaliatory measures—Canada's $12 billion, China's $50 billion, and the EU's $100 billion—disrupting $330 billion in US exports and raising consumer prices by 3–5% for goods like clothing and appliances. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) projects a 0.5% global GDP decline by 2027, with emerging markets like India facing export losses of 2-3%. The S&P 500 and Nasdaq dropped 6% and 16% respectively since January, with Apple, Amazon, Meta, and Microsoft losing significant market value. Yet, these firms are leveraging AI to offset these challenges, driving innovation and revenue in a volatile economic landscape. Supply Chains Under Pressure For tech companies, these tariffs threaten supply chains and data centre costs, critical for AI development. Hardware from China and Taiwan, including semiconductors and circuit boards, faces steep duties, potentially increasing data centre construction costs. Apple, for instance, remains heavily reliant on China and Taiwan for iPhone production. Tariffs or sanctions could increase costs or delay shipments. Microsoft's hardware and Amazon's device arms (Kindle, Echo, Fire) also face potential headwinds if tariffs hit Asian manufacturing. Tariffs could delay projects like Stargate, a $500 billion AI data centre venture involving Oracle and SoftBank, by increasing hardware costs. The tech sector's reliance on global supply chains makes it vulnerable, with Nvidia, AMD, and TSMC stocks falling 7–10% after tariff announcements. AI As A Hedge Paradoxically, AI is emerging as a hedge against economic volatility. While traditional sectors brace for tariffs and geopolitical shockwaves, AI-driven efficiencies can lower costs, automate labour, and unlock new revenue streams. Moreover, much of AI development is digital and cloud-based, less affected by physical trade barriers. For companies like Meta and Microsoft, whose revenues rely more on software and services than physical goods, tariffs may have a limited direct impact. What Lies Ahead? Even as the global economy reels from uncertainty around trade, inflation, and leadership transitions, the AI race continues at full throttle. Meta, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft are not just adapting—they are thriving by embedding AI across every layer of their businesses. If tariffs escalate under Trump's administration or other nationalist movements worldwide, tech giants may face higher hardware costs and supply chain headaches. But their deep investment in AI—especially in cloud, enterprise tools, and digital services—positions them to weather the storm better than most industries. top videos View all About the Author Shilpy Bisht Shilpy Bisht, Deputy News Editor at News18, writes and edits national, world and business stories. She started off as a print journalist, and then transitioned to online, in her 12 years of experience. Her More News18 Tech delivers the latest technology updates, including phone launches, gadget reviews, AI advancements, and more. Stay informed with breaking tech news, expert insights, and trends from India and around the world. Also Download the News18 App to stay updated! tags : artificial intelligence (AI) Meta Microsoft AI view comments Location : New Delhi, India, India First Published: August 04, 2025, 11:28 IST News tech How Meta, Apple, Amazon & Microsoft Profit From AI While Trump Tariffs Disrupt Trade Disclaimer: Comments reflect users' views, not News18's. Please keep discussions respectful and constructive. Abusive, defamatory, or illegal comments will be removed. News18 may disable any comment at its discretion. By posting, you agree to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.
India.com
8 hours ago
- India.com
How much salary Apple pays its employees working in various roles like AI, software development, machine learning, and others?
New Delhi: A few days back, Apple CEO Tim Cook acknowledged that the company will now focus a lot more on artificial intelligence (AI) as he termed the technology a 'revolution'. He said that artificial intelligence is greater than the internet or smartphones. Why is Tim Cook concerned about Apple's AI reputation? He was speaking at a rare all-hands meeting at Apple's Cupertino campus following the company's latest earnings report, where he emphasised that Apple must act swiftly to move ahead of other players in the realm of artificial intelligence (AI) as he laid out a determined roadmap that places AI at the heart of Apple's future. What is the reason behind Apple losing its top AI talent? Now, as the rivalry and competition rev up, Apple has come to a point where it has to retain its top AI talent somehow or the other. Four of Apple's senior AI researchers have left the company and joined Meta in just the past month. This forced the company to hike the remuneration for Apple engineers in its Apple Foundation Models (AFM) group, reports Bloomberg. What is Apple offering recruits? Apple launched Apple Intelligence in 2024, yet its AI efforts have been comparatively slow. Siri is still waiting for the major revamp, and Apple's AI search ambitions are still in early development. However, Apple is aggressively hiring across machine learning and AI roles, offering lucrative pay packages and perks like stock grants, product discounts, and flexible working conditions. While Apple doesn't publicly disclose salaries, a report by Business Insider shared filings for international hires. The filings, as per the report, reveal that AI and engineering roles are among the best-paid. For example, a Machine Learning Engineer can earn up to $312,200 in base pay, while Human Interface Designers top out at $468,500. Software Development Engineers, meanwhile, can pocket up to $378,700 annually. Take a look at Apple's salary ranges across various roles (base pay only, excluding stock grants and bonuses): Salary Range (USD) Machine Learning Engineer $143,100 – $312,200 Machine Learning Researcher $114,100 – $312,200 Data Scientist $105,550 – $322,400 Software Development Engineer (Applications) $132,267 – $378,700 Human Interface Designer $135,400 – $468,500 Hardware Systems Engineer $125,495 – $378,700 AR/VR Software Development $129,805 – $312,200 Software Engineering Manager $166,691 – $378,700 RF/Analog/Mixed Signal Engineer $131,352 – $312,200 Design Verification Engineer $103,164 – $312,200 As has been summed up by moneycontrol, 'Apple's salaries are competitive, but Meta's aggressive poaching spree highlights a broader 'talent war' in AI, where Big Tech giants are racing not just for products, but for people'.
