Apple’s recent setbacks in rolling out its next-generation AI features—especially its much-anticipated Apple Intelligence suite and revamped Siri—appear to trace back to a key budget decision made in early 2023. According to a detailed report by The New York Times, the origin of the issue centers around internal disagreements over funding for AI development.
In early 2023, John Giannandrea, Apple’s senior executive in charge of artificial intelligence, approached CEO Tim Cook with a request to significantly increase the team’s chip allocation. The additional GPU power was deemed necessary to support more advanced AI training and development. While Cook reportedly agreed to double the existing budget, Chief Financial Officer Luca Maestri intervened. Rather than approving the full request, Maestri authorized a much smaller increase—less than half of what had been proposed—and advised the AI division to focus on optimizing performance using the hardware they already had.
As a result, Apple found itself at a disadvantage in terms of computing resources. The AI team had to rely on third-party cloud services from companies like Google and Amazon to supplement their GPU needs. At that time, Apple’s internal data center infrastructure was aging, with around 50,000 GPUs—many of which were over five years old. In comparison, rivals such as Microsoft, Meta, and Google were investing in hundreds of thousands of cutting-edge chips to support their aggressive AI expansion.
The Times also highlighted internal tensions that arose from the project’s management. There was reportedly a tug-of-war between Robby Walker, who led Siri’s development, and Sebastien Marineau-Mes, a senior figure in the software organization. Both vied for control over Siri’s new AI-driven capabilities, and the dispute ultimately led to the work being divided between them.
These challenges led to significant delays. When Apple conducted internal tests of its updated Siri, it discovered that the virtual assistant failed to respond correctly in about one-third of cases. Due to these performance issues, Apple admitted it would need more time to refine the experience. The company confirmed that its more context-aware and personalized Siri features would not debut as quickly as originally planned, instead noting a broader rollout would happen “in the coming year.”
Despite the delay, Apple still intends to introduce a reimagined Siri experience later this fall. The upcoming version is expected to offer richer contextual awareness, better screen interaction, and tighter app integration. Internally, some executives are reportedly unfazed by the slower timeline, believing that competitors are also struggling to perfect their AI solutions. This gives Apple a window to polish its offering before release.
In response to the delay and leadership confusion, Apple’s software head Craig Federighi has made organizational changes. According to the report, Federighi removed the Siri overhaul from Giannandrea’s domain and reassigned it to Mike Rockwell, who currently leads Apple’s Vision Pro team. This leadership shakeup and the delayed Siri rollout had previously been reported by Bloomberg and The Information, and the NYT report adds new context to the internal dynamics that shaped Apple’s current AI trajectory.