Apple Rebuilds Siri Team With Vision Pro Veterans After Project Setbacks

Apple’s recent restructuring of its Siri team, led by veterans of the Vision Pro project, marks a bold pivot to revitalize its struggling AI ambitions. The overhaul, announced in 2025 amid delays in rolling out its “Apple Intelligence” features, reflects both internal frustration and an urgent push to compete with rivals like Google and OpenAI. This strategic shift raises critical questions for investors: Can spatial computing expertise translate to voice assistant dominance? And how might Apple’s long-term bets on AI impact its stock valuation?

The Struggles of Siri: A Delicate Balancing Act

Siri’s decline has been gradual but stark. Once a pioneer in voice assistants, it now trails competitors in natural language understanding and contextual awareness. Internal reports highlighted a 30% failure rate in Siri’s dual-system architecture, which splits basic commands from advanced AI tasks powered by large language models (LLMs). This disjointed approach led to inconsistent performance, delayed the promised “Apple Intelligence” features, and fueled frustration among users and developers alike.

The setbacks culminated in a leadership shakeup: Mike Rockwell, former head of the Vision Pro team, was appointed to overhaul Siri’s engineering. Rockwell’s mandate? Replace key roles with talent from Vision Pro, a project known for its spatial computing and real-time processing capabilities.

The New Leadership: Visionaries Take the Helm

Rockwell’s restructuring prioritized technical rigor and fresh perspectives. Notable hires include:
- Ranjit Desai, a Vision Pro veteran, leading Siri’s platform teams. Rockwell praised Desai’s expertise in “high-performance, low-latency systems,” critical for unifying Siri’s LLM architecture.
- Olivier Gutknecht, overseeing user experience and App Intents, a feature enabling voice-driven tasks like photo editing.
- Nate Begeman and Tom Duffy, engineers from Vision Pro and Core OS, tasked with overhauling Siri’s foundational code.

The changes sidelined longtime Siri leaders like Robby Walker, signaling Apple’s willingness to disrupt its own culture for progress.

Technical Overhaul: Betting on LLMs and Integration

The core challenge lies in unifying Siri’s architecture around LLMs. Currently, Siri’s split system—balancing quick command execution with complex AI tasks—has caused integration failures. Apple’s plan calls for years of development to merge these layers, aiming to enable seamless, conversational interactions.

App Intents, a cornerstone of this effort, requires deep integration with Apple’s apps and third-party developers. Success hinges on convincing developers to adopt the framework, a hurdle given Apple’s historically closed ecosystem.

Leadership Shifts and Strategic Priorities

The restructuring also reshaped Apple’s AI governance. Rockwell now reports to hardware chief John Ternus while retaining oversight of visionOS, blending hardware and software strategies. Meanwhile, former AI chief John Giannandrea was relegated to a research role, signaling a move away from pure AI experimentation toward execution.

The Vision Pro team’s influence is both a strength and a risk. While their spatial computing expertise could enhance Siri’s contextual awareness, Vision Pro’s commercial underperformance (sales fell 50% in its first year) raises doubts about their ability to translate spatial tech into mass-market AI tools.

Market Implications: A Long-Term Gamble

Investors must weigh the risks and rewards of Apple’s bet. On one hand, Siri’s revival could strengthen Apple’s ecosystem dominance, particularly as voice interfaces grow in consumer tech. On the other, the delayed Apple Intelligence rollout (now pushed to 2027) and technical hurdles pose near-term headwinds.

Apple’s stock has mirrored these tensions: while it rose 12% in 2024 amid strong iPhone sales, its AI-driven services remain underperforming. The restructuring’s success will depend on whether Vision Pro’s spatial expertise can bridge Siri’s gaps—and whether investors have the patience to wait years for results.

Conclusion: A High-Stakes Pivot

Apple’s Siri overhaul is a high-risk, high-reward maneuver. With a 30% failure rate in its current system and a delayed AI roadmap, the company has little room for error. The infusion of Vision Pro talent offers fresh technical expertise but carries the shadow of its predecessor’s struggles.

For investors, the key metrics will be:
1. Timeline adherence: Can Apple deliver Apple Intelligence by 2027?
2. Performance metrics: Will Siri’s failure rate drop significantly?
3. Ecosystem integration: Can App Intents attract developers and users?

If successful, Siri could reignite Apple’s services revenue, which grew 6% in 2023 but trails competitors like Amazon and Google. However, if the restructuring falters, Apple risks further erosion of its software leadership.

In the end, Apple’s bet underscores a broader truth: in the AI race, execution matters more than vision. Investors should monitor both technical milestones and stock performance closely—this is a marathon, not a sprint.