OpenAI Hires Apple's Vision Pro Hardware Chief

According to Bloomberg, Paul Meade, a vice president who led the Apple Vision Pro hardware engineering team for seven years and oversaw the company's smart glasses efforts, is leaving Apple by next week to join OpenAI's hardware unit. Bloomberg reports Meade "will work on OpenAI's upcoming family of AI-powered devices," citing people with knowledge of the matter. Fletcher Rothkopf, described in reporting as Meade's longtime deputy who runs product design for Vision Pro and smart glasses, will take on many of Meade's responsibilities.

MacRumors and 9to5Mac report the departure followed a management shake-up at Apple. When John Ternus was named Apple's next CEO, Johny Srouji was elevated to chief hardware officer - replacing Ternus in that role - and subsequently initiated a controversial restructuring of Apple's hardware engineering unit. Reporting identifies that reorganization as the proximate trigger for Meade's decision to leave. He joins an enclave of Apple hardware veterans now working on OpenAI's device efforts, including designers associated with Jony Ive and LoveFrom.

Companies building integrated AI hardware typically recruit senior leaders with experience across systems engineering, optics, thermal and power tradeoffs, and cross-discipline product design. Meade's background spans iPad, iPhone, and seven years at Apple's Vision Products Group, which matches the multi-domain hardware systems profile that AI device teams commonly seek. OpenAI has been assembling a hardware unit for several months and hiring senior consumer-tech talent.

Track OpenAI job listings and regulatory filings for formal product disclosures, additional senior hires with optics or systems backgrounds, and supply-chain signals such as new contract manufacturers or component orders. Apple's leadership transition and hardware engineering restructuring under Srouji may drive further senior departures in the near term.