In a striking sign of the ongoing talent exodus from Big Tech to the booming AI sector, Abidur Chowdhury — the Apple designer who played a pivotal role in creating the sleek, ultra-thin iPhone Air and even narrated its launch video — has departed the company to join Hark, a ambitious new AI startup, as head of design.
Founded by serial entrepreneur Brett Adcock (who also leads the humanoid robotics firm Figure AI), Hark is self-funded with $100 million of Adcock’s personal capital and is rapidly building a team of top engineers from Google, Meta, and beyond—with plans to release its first AI model this summer.
Nick Turner for Bloomberg News:
Adcock, a serial entrepreneur, self-funded Hark with $100 million of his own money. He has said that he sees the business growing alongside Figure, which is developing a general-purpose humanoid robot. Hark is working on AI models, with the first one slated for release this summer.
Hark now has 30 engineers from companies such as Google and Meta, Adcock said in a memo Tuesday to Figure AI staff. The company aiming to reach 100 in the first half of the year, he said.
MacDailyNews Note: Last November, Bloomberg News reported that Chowdhury was leaving Apple. Now we know where’s he’s gone.
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The most desirable symbol of the iPhone is three lenses. It’s like the minimum status symbol someone can have.