Shareholders Sue Apple for Fraud Over Delay in Artificial Intelligence Technologies in Siri

A group of shareholders has filed a class-action lawsuit against Apple, accusing the company of intentionally reducing the time needed to integrate advanced artificial intelligence technologies into its voice assistant Siri, negatively impacting iPhone sales and the company's stock price.

The lawsuit, filed in the federal court in San Francisco, includes shareholders who suffered losses estimated in the hundreds of billions of dollars during the fiscal year ending on June 9, 2024. These losses occurred despite Apple making aesthetic and functional improvements to its products during that period, but advancements in artificial intelligence remained limited.

According to Reuters, the defendants in the case include Apple's CEO Tim Cook, current CFO Kevin Baric, and former CFO Luca Maestri.

The shareholders, led by Eric Tucker, explained that Apple misled them during its Worldwide Developers Conference in June 2024 by suggesting that artificial intelligence would be central to boosting sales of the iPhone 16 series with the launch of the Apple Intelligence system dedicated to enhancing Siri's performance.

However, the lawsuit asserts that the company, based in Cupertino, California, did not possess an effective model for AI-based Siri features, making its claims unbelievable at that time.

According to the shareholders, the truth began to emerge on March 7, 2025, when Apple announced the postponement of some Siri upgrades to 2026. Concerns escalated during this year's developers conference, as the company's reports on its progress in AI failed to meet analysts' expectations.

Since reaching its peak on December 26, 2024, Apple's stock has lost approximately 25% of its market value, equivalent to $900 billion, according to the lawsuit data.

This case raises questions about Apple's transparency with its investors amid growing competition in the field of artificial intelligence.