How Cost-Cutting Decisions by Apple’s Ex-CFO Luca Maestri Impacted Siri's Progress

According to a New York Times report, early cost-cutting decisions by former CFO Luca Maestri are being blamed for delays in Apple's Siri improvements. In 2023, Maestri reportedly halved the budget that engineers had requested for purchasing GPU processors essential for AI development work. Despite initial approval from CEO Tim Cook, Maestri insisted on more efficient use of existing resources and limited access to third-party data centers and Nvidia processors. This has led to a slow rollout of enhanced Siri features. Additionally, the report suggests that internal communication issues and leadership changes may be contributing factors. Craig Federighi, software chief, and Mike Rockwell, who replaced former AI head John Giannandrea, are now tasked with turning around Apple's AI initiatives. Kim Vorrath, known internally as a 'fixer,' was also moved to the Apple Intelligence team in January 2025.