Meta has once again made headlines by bringing aboard a senior Apple AI executive. Frank Chu, who oversaw Apple’s cloud infrastructure for AI models, as well as training operations and search feature development, is slated to join Meta’s newly established Superintelligence Labs, according to a report from Bloomberg on August 22, 2025.
Chu’s role at Apple was central to managing large language models within the company’s cloud ecosystem. He also played a part in shaping features for Siri and Apple’s entertainment platforms. At Meta, Chu is expected to head up a new unit within the Superintelligence Labs, specifically focused on AI infrastructure—known internally as MSL Infra.
This move continues a broader trend: in just seven weeks, Meta has recruited six high-ranking AI professionals from Apple. The exodus began in July with Ruoming Pang, the lead of Apple’s foundation models team, who reportedly accepted a lucrative compensation package to join Meta. Subsequent departures included engineers Tom Gunter, Mark Lee, Bowen Zhang, and Yun Zhu, culminating in Chu’s arrival.
Despite these aggressive hires, Meta has simultaneously signaled restraint in its overall recruitment strategy. An internal memo, seen by Bloomberg, reveals that the company is “temporarily pausing hiring across all MSL teams, with the exception of business‑critical roles.” The memo emphasizes that incoming hires will be evaluated on a case‑by‑case basis to ensure alignment with top strategic priorities and to plan headcount for 2026 more thoughtfull.
This cautious tone follows Meta’s recent reorganization of its AI division into four distinct groups—superintelligence, consumer products, infrastructure, and long‑term research—as part of its broader strategy to dial in structure and focus amid rapid expansion.
Meanwhile, for Apple, the escalating talent drain has compounded mounting pressures. The departures come at a sensitive time when the company is already grappling with delays to its Siri overhaul. Concerns have been raised about whether it will rely more on third-party AI models or attempt to catch up internally. Apple leadership, including CEO Tim Cook, has indicated an urgency to invest in AI, but the stream of high-profile departures—starting with Pang—has unsettling implications
