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

*Paul Meade’s move continues the flow of senior hardware talent from Apple to OpenAI.*

OpenAI has hired Paul Meade, the Apple executive who led development of the Vision Pro headset and the company’s smart-glasses program. The hire follows a pattern of high-profile departures from Apple to AI-focused competitors.

Bloomberg first reported the change on June 26. Meade had held responsibility for both the spatial-computing device and Apple’s early work on wearable glasses that incorporate cameras and sensors. No start date or role details at OpenAI were disclosed.

The move adds to earlier exits of Apple staff working on AI hardware and silicon. Sources in both reports frame the departures as part of broader competition for engineers who combine device design experience with machine-learning systems.

Apple has not commented on the departure. OpenAI has likewise offered no public statement.

The loss removes a single point of continuity on two of Apple’s most visible hardware bets at a time when the company is still trying to define how its devices will incorporate large models. OpenAI gains an engineer who has already shipped a mixed-reality product and has run a glasses effort still in early stages. For teams inside Apple that must now replace that oversight, the immediate effect is added schedule pressure on projects already behind their original timelines.

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Sources:

• 9to5Mac
• Bloomberg Technology

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