From hey Siri to hey Subbu? Apple hires Amar Subramanya, taking a bite out of Google via Microsoft – The Times of India

TOI correspondent from Washington: In the predatory world of American artificial intelligence, where top engineers command salaries in the millions and signing bonuses rival small fortunes, Apple Inc has taken a big bite out of Microsoft and Google. The iPhone giant on Monday announced the hiring of Amar Subramanya, a Bengaluru-educated Google veteran who briefly led AI efforts at Microsoft, as its new vice president of artificial intelligence, in an effort to catch up with rivals who have sped ahead. Subramanya steps into a role vacated by the retiring John Giannandrea, inheriting oversight of Apple’s foundation models, machine learning research, and AI safety teams amid a high-stakes push to salvage its lagging AI ambitions.Subramanya’s whirlwind journey—from Alphabet’s Mountain View labs, where he helmed engineering for the Gemini AI assistant, to Microsoft’s Redmond headquarters for a five-month co-piloting stint as corporate vice president of AI, and now to sickly Siri at…