Paul Meade will start OpenAI's hardware division, 'Bloomberg' says.
By Mariella Moon June 27, 2026 3:36 am EST
Apple Paul Meade, an Apple VP who heads the Vision Products Group, is reportedly leaving the company next week for OpenAI. According to Bloomberg, the top executive in charge of the Vision Pro headset and Apple's smart glasses projects will be starting up the AI company's hardware unit. OpenAI has been developing AI-powered devices with Jony Ive's startup since 2025. While Ive's io merged with OpenAI in a $6.5 billion deal, it remains independent.
It's unclear how the new in-house hardware department will affect OpenAI's work with Ive's startup. Bloomberg says Meade will oversee the development of a family of AI-powered devices. The Information reported earlier this year that Ive's studio is also working on a series of AI devices, including a smart speaker that's expected to be available sometime in 2027.
At Apple, Meade led the hardware engineering for the Vision Pro headset for seven years and had also been spearheading the company's smart glasses projects. Previous reports said Apple won't be launching its first smart glasses model until the end of 2027. Meade also worked on the iPad and the iPhone before joining the Vision Products Group in 2017, and then overseeing the group's hardware engineering a couple of years later. Fletcher Rothkopf, who was one of the founders of the Apple Vision Pro team, will be taking over many of Meade's responsibilities.
Bloomberg says Meade's departure was caused by John Ternus' impending appointment as CEO of Apple. Ternus is currently SVP of hardware engineering and will take over from Tim Cook on September 1.
