Apple Vision Pro Development Leader Paul Meade Moves to OpenAI

The leader of Apple’s Vision Pro headset development and smart glasses project, Paul Meade, is reportedly leaving the company to join OpenAI. Macrumors reported on Friday that Meade will depart Apple next week to join OpenAI’s hardware division, which is focused on developing artificial intelligence-based devices. Meade became head of Apple’s Vision Products Group after Mike Rockwell, who previously led the Vision Pro project, shifted to developing AI features for the virtual assistant Siri. Prior to this role, Meade led the hardware engineering team for the Vision Pro. He also has a long track record at Apple, with involvement in the development of the iPhone and iPad. Having joined Apple in 2010, Meade began working in the Vision Products Group in 2017. In recent years, he led the development of an AI-based smart glasses project Apple was preparing to compete with Meta’s Ray-Ban smart glasses. Beyond the smart glasses project, Meade also led the team developing Apple’s next-generation augmented reality devices. The position left by Meade will be filled by Fletcher Rothkopf, who currently leads the product design team for the Vision Pro and Apple’s smart glasses project. Meade’s decision to leave Apple comes amid significant changes in the company’s leadership structure. Apple is reportedly preparing for a leadership transition from CEO Tim Cook to John Ternus, the current head of hardware. Should Ternus become CEO, his position would be filled by Apple’s head of chips, Johny Srouji. This restructuring is said to have triggered dissatisfaction among several Apple hardware executives. Meanwhile, OpenAI continues to strengthen its hardware ambitions by recruiting a number of former Apple executives. Besides Meade, the developer of ChatGPT has previously brought on board former Apple design chief Jony Ive, former Apple vice president of product design Tang Tan, and former Apple head of industrial design Evans Hankey.