OpenAI Hires Apple’s Head of Vision Pro and Smart Glasses

*Paul Meade’s departure adds to the list of senior hardware leaders leaving Apple for AI companies.*

OpenAI has hired Paul Meade, the Apple executive responsible for the Vision Pro headset and the company’s smart-glasses program. The move continues a run of high-profile exits from Apple’s hardware groups to AI and competing device makers.

Bloomberg first reported the change on June 26. Meade had led both the mixed-reality headset effort and the early smart-glasses work inside Apple. 9to5Mac confirmed the same details from Bloomberg’s account.

No public statements from Apple or OpenAI accompanied the reports. The coverage does not include Meade’s start date or new responsibilities at OpenAI.

Why it matters

Apple now loses another senior leader with direct oversight of two major wearable projects at the same time OpenAI is building out its own hardware ambitions. For teams inside Apple that depend on continuity in these programs, the loss adds friction to already long development cycles. For OpenAI, the hire supplies concrete experience shipping advanced optics and form-factor hardware rather than models alone.

The pattern of departures shows no sign of slowing.

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Sources:

• 9to5Mac
• Bloomberg Technology

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