Apple Shifts Gears on AI: Tim Cook’s Bold Vision
In a rare, full-scale all-hands meeting at the Steve Jobs Theater, Apple CEO Tim Cook directly addressed growing concerns about the company’s perceived lag in artificial intelligence. Just a day after Apple's Q3 2025 earnings call, Cook delivered what Bloomberg described as an hourlong pep talk, aimed at reassuring employees that Apple is ready to take a leading role in the AI race.
"Apple Must Do This. Apple Will Do This."
Cook called AI “as big or bigger” than past revolutions like smartphones, the internet, and cloud computing, declaring that AI is “sort of ours to grab.” He reinforced Apple’s commitment, stating, “We will make the investment to do it.”
Acknowledging concerns about Apple arriving late to the AI race, Cook reiterated a familiar philosophy: Apple rarely moves first, but when it does, it redefines the space. “There was a PC before the Mac; a smartphone before the iPhone; many tablets before the iPad; and MP3 players before the iPod,” he reminded employees. “This is how I feel about AI.”
The Siri Challenge and AI Architecture Setbacks
Craig Federighi, Apple’s software chief, joined Cook on stage and addressed internal issues facing Apple’s Siri team. Federighi revealed that Apple had initially pursued a hybrid AI architecture combining traditional command-based processing with large language model capabilities. However, that approach didn’t meet Apple’s quality standards. “We realized that approach wasn’t going to get us to Apple quality,” he said.
This internal pivot coincides with Apple’s recent exploration of external partnerships. The company has reportedly held talks with AI players like OpenAI, Anthropic, Mistral, and Perplexity AI — with acquisition discussions on the table to accelerate development.
Rising Competition, Brain Drain to Meta
The meeting came amid a growing exodus of Apple AI engineers to Meta’s Superintelligence Labs, which is luring talent with generous compensation packages. Internally, Apple has faced leadership shakeups, strategic disagreements, and delays in rolling out its AI features — all contributing to concerns about morale and direction.
Looking Forward
In addition to AI, Cook used the meeting to briefly address other company matters, including the upcoming retirement of longtime COO Jeff Williams, ongoing investments in health, and Apple TV+ performance. On the regulatory front, Cook acknowledged increasing global scrutiny, stressing the need to protect user privacy and experience.
Above all, the event marked a clear shift in Apple’s internal tone — from caution to urgency — signaling that the company is ready to step up its AI efforts, even if it wasn’t first out of the gate.