Key Apple designer behind iPhone Air joins unnamed AI startup
The talent drain at Apple continues, now reaching the company’s key designers.
Apple continues to lose key talent, and the latest wave of departures has now reached the design team. According to Bloomberg, industrial designer Abidur Chowdhury, one of the faces of the iPhone Air presentation in September, has left the company to join an unnamed AI startup.
Sources familiar with the situation say Chowdhury’s departure caused a stir inside Apple, as he had been rapidly gaining influence within the design group and was considered one of its promising specialists. Despite his resignation, his LinkedIn profile still lists Apple as his current employer, and the name of his new company has not been disclosed.
Chowdhury’s exit comes amid a broader wave of resignations across Apple. In addition to losses among AI experts, many of whom have moved to Meta, OpenAI, and Anthropic, Apple’s design organization is also undergoing significant changes. The report notes that while Chowdhury played an important role in developing the iPhone Air, his departure is not connected to the device’s debut.
