Siri Executive Robby Walker To Leave Apple In October

Apple is about to lose another key figure in its artificial intelligence team. Robby Walker, the senior director who once oversaw Siri, is leaving the company in October, according to Bloomberg. His exit comes at a delicate moment for Apple, as the company struggles to keep pace in the rapidly evolving AI race.

From Siri To Search

Walker joined Apple back in 2013 and rose to become one of its most senior AI executives. Until earlier this year, he led Siri’s development, guiding Apple’s push to modernize its voice assistant with Apple Intelligence. But that project hit turbulence. In May 2025, Apple announced that the “new and improved Siri” would be delayed until 2026. Around that time, Walker delivered a now-famous pep talk to engineers, comparing the incomplete effort to a swimmer who nearly reached Hawaii but fell short of the destination.

Following the delay, Siri responsibilities shifted from AI chief John Giannandrea to Vision Pro leader Mike Rockwell, under Craig Federighi’s oversight. Walker himself moved to the Answers, Information, and Knowledge team, where he worked on a still-unannounced AI-powered search system. That project, internally called Answers, is designed to compete with services like Perplexity and ChatGPT and is scheduled for a 2026 release.

Why It Matters

Walker’s departure adds to a string of high-profile exits from Apple’s AI group. Meta has been the biggest beneficiary, attracting several Apple researchers with massive pay packages. Ruoming Pang, Apple’s top AI models lead, left for Meta with a reported $200 million deal. Others, like Frank Chu, Mark Lee, and Tom Gunter, also joined Meta’s growing Superintelligence Labs.

The steady talent drain has fueled concerns about Apple’s ability to execute on AI. While rivals like Google continue to roll out advanced models, most recently showcasing Gemini inside its flagship phones, Apple’s approach has been far more cautious. The company has leaned on OpenAI’s ChatGPT for Apple Intelligence’s general knowledge features and is reportedly considering integrating Google’s Gemini into the next-generation Siri.

Looking Ahead

For now, Walker’s future plans remain unclear. What is clear is that Apple faces mounting pressure to prove it can deliver on its AI promises. With Siri’s relaunch now expected in spring 2026 and the Answers search project still in development, Apple’s strategy hinges on a mix of in-house breakthroughs and partnerships with rivals. Walker’s exit in October marks yet another challenge as the company navigates what may be the biggest shift in consumer technology since the iPhone itself.