Paul Meade, the Apple VP responsible for the Vision Pro headset, is reportedly leaving Cupertino to join OpenAI’s hardware division. The news, first reported by Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, adds another big name to OpenAI’s growing device ambitions.
Meade also reportedly led development of Apple’s upcoming AI-powered smart glasses, expected to launch next year. That’s a significant brain drain on Apple’s hardware pipeline right when OpenAI is trying to build exactly that kind of product.
The departure seems tied to broader leadership changes at Apple. John Ternus is expected to take over as CEO soon, and his restructuring of the hardware engineering team has apparently left several VPs feeling sidelined or demoted. Meade’s exit looks like a casualty of that shakeup.
OpenAI isn’t starting from scratch on hardware. The company is already working with former Apple design chief Jony Ive on an AI device that CEO Sam Altman has described as “more peaceful and calm than an iPhone.” Whether that vision survives contact with engineering reality remains to be seen — reports last fall suggested the project was struggling.
For Apple, losing the leader of both its mixed-reality headset and its next-generation glasses project is a notable setback. The Vision Pro itself hasn’t been a commercial hit, and the company was banking on more affordable smart glasses to compete with Meta’s wearables.
