CEO Tim Cook: Apple Must Master Artificial Intelligence and Is Investing Heavily in It
Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, recently held a rare all-hands meeting where he spoke openly about how he sees the future of artificial intelligence. According to him, the shift toward artificial intelligence is as significant as, or even greater than, the advent of the internet or smartphones. Cook emphasized that Apple has no intention of overlooking this change and is determined to embrace it fully. "Apple must do this. Apple will do this," he told employees in an auditorium in Cupertino, California. These words came just one day after the financial report for the third quarter of 2025, in which Cook discussed significant investments in artificial intelligence.
Cook pointed out that Apple is often not the first to market with new technologies, but it has experience perfecting them in the end. He cited examples such as personal computers, smartphones, tablets, and music players, where Apple arrived later but created modern versions that became the standard. He views artificial intelligence in the same way—as an area where Apple can succeed thanks to its quality-focused approach. During the meeting, Cook assured employees that the company would invest the necessary resources to master it and described artificial intelligence as one of the most important technologies of our lifetime.
Delay to the Siri Upgrade
One of the key points of the meeting was an explanation of why the planned upgrade to the Siri voice assistant is being delayed. Software chief Craig Federighi explained in detail that the team had originally been working on a hybrid system that combined the existing version of Siri with new large language models (LLMs). However, this approach failed to meet Apple's usual quality standards, so they scrapped it entirely. They are now building everything on a new foundation, which is expected to deliver better results. Federighi said that this change in direction caused the delay, but internal testing is showing positive progress. The Siri upgrade has now officially been postponed until 2026, allowing Apple to create a more personalized, private, and seamlessly integrated version with features such as live translation and workout assistance.
This delay comes at a time when Apple is also facing other challenges in artificial intelligence. Some employees from the artificial intelligence team have left for Meta, which is conducting a major recruitment drive. This has affected team morale, but Cook and Federighi sought to reassure employees that Apple sees artificial intelligence as a key area in which it must win, not merely as a trend.
Apple Is Looking for Ways to Accelerate Research
During the financial conference for the third quarter of 2025, Cook responded to a question from Citi analyst Atif Malik about whether Apple needed to accelerate its artificial intelligence roadmap, despite historically not making large acquisitions. Cook replied that the company is "very open" to acquisitions that would help accelerate its plans. Apple has already acquired seven companies this year, although none were particularly large in terms of price. Cook emphasized that the size of the company is not the key factor—what matters is whether the technology will help accelerate the roadmap. "We are not fixated on a certain company size," he said, adding that Apple was not announcing anything specific but was interested.
Potential targets include startups such as Perplexity, with which Apple has held internal discussions about an acquisition. The artificial intelligence search company recently closed a $1 billion funding round, pushing its valuation above $18 billion. If the acquisition were to happen, it would surpass Apple's largest purchase to date—Beats for $3 billion—and could be the largest in the company's history. Apple is also considering technology from companies such as OpenAI or Anthropic to improve Siri using large language models. There has also been talk of discussions with Mistral. Although no major acquisition has yet been confirmed, Cook clearly indicated that Apple is reallocating employees and increasing capital expenditure to integrate artificial intelligence into all its devices and platforms.
Apple in the Competitive Race
Apple is significantly increasing its investments in artificial intelligence, including moving large numbers of employees to these projects and relying on a hybrid model that uses third-party infrastructure. Cook described artificial intelligence as a "must-win" moment, not merely a trend. This strategy comes at a time when competitors such as Meta are aggressively recruiting talent, something Apple has experienced firsthand. Nevertheless, Cook expressed optimism and emphasized that Apple has a history of successfully entering established markets.
Overall, these steps show that Apple is taking artificial intelligence seriously and is prepared to invest to avoid falling behind. With plans for acquisitions and a rebuild of Siri, the company is seeking to create technologies that meet its high standards for quality and privacy.
