Apple Vision Pro exec is reportedly leaving for OpenAI¶

TechCrunch · 2026-06-28

Paul Meade, the Apple vice president in charge of the Vision Pro headset, is leaving the company to join OpenAI’s hardware team,according to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman.

Meade also reportedly led the development of the AI-powered smart glasses thatApple plans to launch next year. The costly Vision Pro was not a hit, but Apple is hoping that more affordable smart glasses willhelp it compete with wearable devices from Meta.

Gurman frames this departure as a byproduct ofJohn Ternus’ imminent elevation to Apple CEO, and of Ternus’ decision to shake up the hardware engineering team, which left some of the company’s vice presidents feeling like they’d been demoted.

OpenAI, meanwhile, is already working with Apple’s former chief design officer Jony Ive on an AI device that CEO Sam Altman has claimed will bemore peaceful and calm than an iPhone, though reports last fall suggested the company wasstruggling to get the details right.

TechCrunch has reached out to Apple and OpenAI for comment.

Topics

Last chance to save up to $190 on TechCrunch Founder Summit. Join 1,000+ founders and VCs at all stages for real-world scaling insights and connections that move the needle.Savings end June 26, 11:59 p.m. PT.

Newsletters¶

Subscribe for the industry’s biggest tech news

AIOpenAI limits GPT-5.6 rollout after government request, says restrictions shouldn’t be the normRebecca Bellan1 day ago

OpenAI limits GPT-5.6 rollout after government request, says restrictions shouldn’t be the norm¶

Rebecca Bellan
AIOpenAI poaches Uber India chief to lead its biggest market outside the USJagmeet Singh1 day ago

OpenAI poaches Uber India chief to lead its biggest market outside the US¶

Jagmeet Singh
AIIt’s not about Anthropic vs. OpenAI anymoreRussell Brandom2 days ago

It’s not about Anthropic vs. OpenAI anymore¶

Russell Brandom

Latest in Hardware¶

In BriefApple Vision Pro exec is reportedly leaving for OpenAIAnthony Ha13 hours ago