Who is Ruoming Pang, ex-Apple AI engineer, hired by Zuckerberg with a pay package more than Tim Cook’s salary
In a clear sign of how intense the competition for AI talent has become, Meta has hired Ruoming Pang, a top engineer who used to lead Apple’s AI models team. What’s grabbing headlines is the size of the deal: Pang was offered more than USD 200 million to join Meta. He is now part of Meta’s “Superintelligence” team, which is working on powerful AI systems that can do tasks as well as, or even better than, humans. This pay package is one of the biggest ever given to an engineer, similar to what some top company CEOs earn.
Who is Ruoming Pang? The AI expert Meta just hired with a jaw-dropping USD 200 million offer
Ruoming Pang is a well-known expert in artificial intelligence who has worked behind the scenes at some of the biggest tech companies in the world. He has a PhD from Princeton University and began his career at Google, where he helped build important AI tools like the Lingvo speech system and Zanzibar, a system Google uses to manage who can access its services.
In 2021, he joined Apple and quickly rose to lead the team working on Apple’s Foundation Models these are large AI models that power smart features like Genmoji, improved Siri, and on-device AI for personal notifications. He led over 100 engineers and played a big role in pushing Apple’s AI projects forward, even though the company kept much of it out of the spotlight.
Now, Pang is in the news for accepting a massive deal from Meta, worth over USD 200 million. This includes his salary, bonuses, and a large share in company stock. He will join Meta’s new Superintelligence Lab, which is focused on building super-advanced AI systems that can think and perform tasks like humans or even better.
Meta has been hiring top AI talent from companies like Apple, Google, and OpenAI, and Ruoming Pang is one of its most important hires yet. Experts say Apple didn’t even try to match Meta’s huge offer—reportedly larger than what Apple CEO Tim Cook earns.
Why did Meta offer Ruoming Pang over USD 200 million?
Meta is going all-in on building super-powerful AI systems, and to do that, it’s offering huge pay packages to top talent. Ruoming Pang’s deal worth over USD 200 million is part of this bold strategy.
According to reports shared by Bloomberg, Pang’s offer includes a high base salary, a big signing bonus, and a large amount of Meta stock. Most of the stock will be given out slowly over time and is tied to how well Meta performs. This setup encourages him to stay with the company long-term and help it succeed.
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