In a rare all-hands meeting held on August 1, 2025, Apple CEO Tim Cook delivered a strong message to employees about the company’s commitment to artificial intelligence (AI), affirming that AI is “ours to grab”. Speaking after Apple’s Q3 2025 earnings report, Cook emphasized AI as a transformative technology that will eclipse even smartphones and the internet in impact, making it a top priority for the tech giant.
During the hour-long pep talk, Cook reassured staff that Apple’s approach to AI, though not first to market with some technologies, will be about making marked investments to leverage AI’s disruptive potential. “Apple must do this. Apple will do this,” Cook said, highlighting the company’s history of dominating markets by refining and perfecting innovations rather than leading initial introductions. He cited examples such as how Apple was not first with the personal computer, smartphone, tablet, or MP3 player, yet it revolutionized each category through its products like the Mac, iPhone, iPad, and iPod.
Cook’s comments also sought to counter internal concerns amid the departure of several AI engineers to competitors such as Meta, who have been aggressively recruiting AI talent with lucrative offers. Morale issues related to Apple’s perceived lag in AI development had been rising, prompting the CEO to provide direct assurance about the seriousness with which Apple views AI.
Apple’s software chief, Craig Federighi, spoke alongside Cook, shedding light on the progress with Siri’s underlying architecture overhaul. Federighi described the project as producing “needed” results that position Apple to deliver a “much bigger upgrade than we envisioned,” noting, “There is no project people are taking more seriously.” This underscores a significant internal effort to enhance Apple’s AI capabilities, particularly in personal assistant technology.
The meeting followed closely on the heels of Cook’s remarks during the earnings call, where he reiterated Apple’s openness to major acquisitions that could accelerate its AI roadmap. The company is reportedly in talks with firms such as Perplexity and Mistral and is exploring the possibility of integrating technology from OpenAI or Anthropic to build an advanced large language model (LLM) version of Siri.
Overall, the all-hands meeting served as both a motivational rally and a strategic signal reflecting Apple’s renewed urgency to secure a leading place in the AI revolution. As Tim Cook asserted, “This is sort of ours to grab,” framing the challenge and opportunity of AI as central to Apple’s future.
With the AI race rapidly intensifying across the tech landscape, Apple’s internal focus on investing in AI, engineering excellence, and strategic acquisitions highlights its determination to remain at the forefront of the next wave of innovation.