In a move that underscores just how aggressively OpenAI is building its hardware ambitions, Apple’s top executive in charge of Vision Pro and smart glasses development is leaving to join the AI company.

According to Bloomberg’s Mark Gurman, Paul Meade — Apple’s vice president of hardware engineering for the Vision Products Group — is departing after 15 years at the company to join OpenAI’s hardware team. Meade oversaw hardware engineering for the Vision Pro and was deeply involved in Apple’s rumored smart glasses projects.

A Talent Drain at Apple

Meade joins a growing list of Apple executives who have left for OpenAI’s hardware ecosystem. He’ll be working alongside former Apple colleagues including Jony Ive, Tang Tan, and Evans Hankey — all of whom left Apple to eventually form the AI hardware startup io, which OpenAI acquired for $6.5 billion last year.

Bloomberg reports Meade will work on OpenAI’s upcoming AI-powered devices, bringing Apple-caliber hardware engineering to the ChatGPT maker’s device ambitions.

His responsibilities at Apple will shift to Fletcher Rothkopf, Meade’s longtime deputy who was already involved in product design for Vision Pro and Apple’s smart glasses efforts.

Bad Timing for Apple

The departure comes at a particularly painful moment for Apple. The company:

Meanwhile, Meta already has display-less AI glasses on store shelves, Snap is taking pre-orders for its $2,195 Specs AR glasses, and Google/Samsung are preparing Android XR glasses for later this year.

What OpenAI Is Building

OpenAI’s hardware ambitions are becoming clearer by the week. With the io acquisition, Jony Ive’s design direction, and now a veteran Apple hardware exec on board, OpenAI appears to be building a consumer AI device — potentially something that competes directly with smart glasses and wearable AI form factors.

The message is clear: ChatGPT may be software, but OpenAI wants to own the hardware it runs on too.