Apple is ramping up its ambitious AI strategy, announcing today that John Giannandrea — the former Google AI Chief that Apple poached this April — has joined the company’s executive team as Senior Vice President of Machine Learning and Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
Giannandrea will oversee AI and ML development across the company, including the Core ML and Siri technologies. He is expected to play a key role in the company’s future decision-making and lead Apple to be a more AI-centric company.
The year 2018 was a roller coaster ride for Apple. It became the world’s first pubic company worth US$1 trillion in August, only to see its market value plunge by more than 25 percent since, due in large part due to sluggish iPhone sales.
Apple has been leaning toward AI as of late and today’s announcement reflects their confidence in Giannandrea. Just two months after he joined Apple, Giannandrea was put in charge of the company’s newly-combined CoreML and Siri teams.
Apple CEO Tim Cook said “Machine learning and AI are important to Apple’s future as they are fundamentally changing the way people interact with technology, and already helping our customers live better lives. We’re fortunate to have John, a leader in the AI industry, driving our efforts in this critical area.”
Apple’s executive team is an impressive collection of high-profile talents that includes Katherine Adams, Angela Ahrendts, Eddy Cue, Craig Federighi, Jonathan Ive, Luca Maestri, Dan Riccio, Phil Schiller, Johny Srouji and Jeff Williams.
Prior to joining Apple, Giannandrea spent eight years at Google where he led research on the company’s search engine and AI. Prior to that he co-founded tech startups Tellme Networks and Metaweb Technologies. Giannandrea received his bachelor degree and PhD from the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow, Scotland.
Journalist: Tony Peng | Editor: Michael Sarazen
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