With Google Deal, Apple’s Craig Federighi Plots a Cautious Course in AI

Last fall, Apple’s software chief, Craig Federighi, delivered a warm message to a meeting of the company’s combined software and AI groups. Federighi said he was excited about deeper collaboration between his software team and Apple’s AI group.

But then came Federighi’s criticism. He added that he liked moving fast and feeling the “wind at his back,” but in recent years he had felt Apple hadn’t been moving as quickly as he would have liked in AI. Although he wasn’t explicit, some members of Apple’s foundation models team—which builds the underlying software that power the company’s AI features—took his comment as a dig at their group.