Apple's senior AI engineer who joined Meta, leaves after 8 months to join Sam Altman's OpenAI

OpenAI’s hiring spree sees no end as the company has poached yet another top executive from Meta. According to a report by The Information, the ChatGPT-maker has hired Ruoming Pang, former AI Infrastructure head at Meta Superintelligence Labs. Pang, who has previously worked with Apple as ‘Senior Distinguished Engineer’, left Meta last week and has now joined the Sam Altman-led AI company. As per the report, he joined Meta last year for a pay package reportedly worth more than $200 million over several years and contingent on meeting certain milestones. The move was then a blow to Apple, which has been struggling to develop AI models and features for its devices.


Pang’s move to OpenAI comes amid a series of leadership changes within Meta’s artificial intelligence division over the past year. While Meta has brought in talent from competitors including OpenAI and Google DeepMind, it has also seen several senior executives exit its AI teams.

More changes in Meta’s AI division

Mat Velloso, who led product for developer platforms at Meta Superintelligence Labs, recently left the company after a brief tenure. Velloso had joined Meta’s AI organization from Google DeepMind in July and announced his departure on LinkedIn last week.


In another notable change, **Yann LeCun>, Meta’s longtime chief AI scientist, also exited the company last year.


The developments highlight ongoing shifts within Meta’s AI leadership as competition intensifies among major technology firms investing heavily in artificial intelligence research and products.

OpenAI reduces spending plan by $800 billion

In a related news, OpenAI is telling investors that it expects to spend around $600 million on compute infrastructure by 2030. This new spending target is a sharp reduction from the $1.4 trillion figure which OpenAI CEO Sam Altman touted last year. According to a report by CNBC, the company is now offering a more defined timeline and tying its spending plan more closely to projected revenue growth.


The ChatGPT-maker is now projecting over $280 billion in revenue by 2030, with nearly equal contribution from consumer and enterprise businesses. In 2025, the company generated around $13.1 billion in revenue surpassing its target of $10 bullion, while burning through $8 billion, slightly below its $9 billion forecast.