Apple’s iPhone Air Designer Abidur Chowdhury Moves to AI Startup Hark

Apple’s design team just lost one of its brightest stars to the world of startups.

Abidur Chowdhury, the industrial designer who became a familiar face to Apple fans after introducing the ultra-thin iPhone Air, has officially joined the AI startup Hark as its new Head of Design. 

The move, reported by Bloomberg, marks another high-profile exit from the tech giant as top-tier talent continues to migrate toward artificial intelligence.

Chowdhury was a rising star who had been with Apple since 2019. His influence peaked during the launch of the iPhone Air this past September, when he was selected for a rare public-facing role. In Apple’s official launch video, he described the vision for the device, stating their intention was to “make an iPhone that feels like a piece of the future.”

At the time, he called the device “a paradox you have to hold to believe.” Now, Chowdhury is taking that futuristic mindset to Hark, a young company with massive ambitions and very deep pockets.

What is Hark?

Founded by serial entrepreneur Brett Adcock, who also leads the $39 billion robotics firm Figure AI, Hark is operating with a war chest of $100 million in self-funded capital. The startup is focused on building what Adcock calls “human-centric AI.”

According to an internal memo sent to Figure employees and investors, reported by The Information, Adcock intends for Hark to build systems that “think proactively, recursively, improve, and care deeply about people.” Hark isn’t just a design firm; it’s an engineering powerhouse.

The company has already recruited 30 engineers from tech titans like Google, Meta, and Amazon. Adcock has stated he plans to grow the team to 100 people in the first half of 2026, with the goal of releasing its first AI models this coming summer.

A growing trend of ‘big tech’ exits

Chowdhury’s departure is part of a much larger shift in Silicon Valley. Throughout 2025, a wave of high-profile figures left established giants to chase the AI boom. In late 2025, Meta’s chief AI scientist and Turing Award winner, Yann LeCun, announced he was leaving to start his own firm.

The ghost of Apple design past is also looming large over the industry. In May 2025, OpenAI acquired io, a startup founded by legendary Apple designer Jony Ive, for a reported $6.4 billion. Ive and his firm, LoveFrom, now handle deep design and creative responsibilities for OpenAI, with rumors swirling about an AI-powered “companion” device or even an AI pen.

For Apple, losing Chowdhury hits hard. He joined the company right as Ive was leaving, representing a new generation of design leadership. While sources say his exit isn’t related to the iPhone Air’s market performance, his move to Hark suggests that the most innovative designers now see AI — not just hardware — as the next great frontier.

Also read: Apple’s internal shake-ups point to a broader push, as Apple’s AI leadership change signals a more urgent strategy shift.

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