Apple sued by shareholders over AI disclosures
Apple was sued by shareholders in a proposed class action on Friday, accusing it of downplaying the time needed to integrate advanced artificial intelligence-based features into its Siri assistant, hurting iPhone sales and its stock price.
The complaint filed in San Francisco federal court seeks unspecified damages for shareholders who lost money in the year ending June 9.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CNA
2 hours ago
- CNA
South Korea's trade chief heads to US from Jun 22 as Trump tariffs cast long shadow
SEOUL: South Korea's Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo will visit the United States from Jun 22 to Jun 27, the trade ministry said on Saturday (Jun 21), amid intensifying concerns over the impact of US tariffs. The visit will include discussions with US Trade Representative Jamieson Greer and the third round of bilateral technical discussions, a ministry official told Reuters. Further details about the meetings were not disclosed. The two countries began trade talks in April, with Seoul seeking a path to slash the stiff tariffs US President Donald Trump is angling to impose. South Korea is currently facing a 10 per cent blanket tariff and a 25 per cent country-specific duty temporarily paused for 90 days. It agreed with the US during initial trade negotiations in April to craft a trade deal reducing tariffs by Jul 8. However, political uncertainty triggered by leadership upheavals had stalled progress. "Since a South Korea-US summit has yet to take place and key ministers have not been appointed under the new administration, negotiations are likely to focus on areas that the trade ministry can manage - excluding major issues such as defence cost-sharing and exchange rates," Heo Yoon, an economics professor at Sogang University, said. "Given these circumstances, reaching a comprehensive agreement on key negotiation frameworks and agendas is expected to be challenging." The announcement of Yeo's trip to Washington comes days after South Korea launched a task force on negotiations with the US. It comprises industry ministry officials overseeing trade, manufacturing, energy and investment. According to the Industry Ministry, it will deal with tariff and non-tariff matters across industry and the energy sector, while also coordinating with the private sector. Yeo, who heads the task force, said the team has a major responsibility as "businesses and the public have experienced great difficulties due to US tariff measures".
CNA
6 hours ago
- CNA
Toyota to raise US auto prices by more than $200 from July, Bloomberg News reports
Japanese carmaker Toyota Motor Corp will raise prices of some vehicles it sells in the U.S. by more than $200 from July, Bloomberg News reported on Friday. Some Toyota- and Lexus-branded models will have their prices increased by an average of $270 and $208, respectively, the report said, citing Nobu Sunaga, a spokesman for the company.
Business Times
6 hours ago
- Business Times
Apple executives have held internal talks about buying AI startup Perplexity
[SAN FRANCISCO] Apple executives have held internal discussions about potentially bidding for artificial intelligence (AI) startup Perplexity AI, seeking to address the need for more AI talent and technology. Adrian Perica, the company's head of mergers and acquisitions, has weighed the idea with services chief Eddy Cue and top AI decision-makers, according to people with knowledge of the matter. The discussions are at an early stage and may not lead to an offer, said the sources, who asked not to be identified because the matter is private. Such a deal would help Apple develop an AI-based search engine, part of efforts to cope with the potential loss of a longstanding arrangement with Google. That partnership, which involves making Google the default browser on devices, generates roughly US$20 billion a year for Apple, and is now under threat from US antitrust enforcers. To date, Apple executives have not discussed a bid with Perplexity management. Bloomberg News reported earlier Friday that Meta Platforms tried to buy Perplexity earlier this year. 'We have no knowledge of any current or future M&A discussions involving Perplexity,' the AI startup said. Apple declined to comment. The Perplexity service provides real-time answers to questions using the latest information from the web. If Apple were to engage in talks to buy the startup, such a move likely would not happen until a decision is made in the Google antitrust trial. That's when Apple would know whether its lucrative Google agreement may have to be unwound. BT in your inbox Start and end each day with the latest news stories and analyses delivered straight to your inbox. Sign Up Sign Up Google shares reversed gains and fell nearly 1 per cent in late trading after Bloomberg reported on Apple's Perplexity discussions. Perplexity recently completed an investment round that valued it at US$14 billion. A deal anywhere near that level would be the largest acquisition in Apple's history. The company's biggest transaction until now remains the US$3 billion takeover of Beats in 2014 – though Apple made more recent billion US dollar deals for Intel Corp.'s modem unit and a stake in Chinese ride-sharing company DiDi. After Meta failed to reach an agreement with Perplexity, it bought a 49 per cent slice of Scale AI for US$14.3 billion. That deal is part of Meta's attempts to create a so-called superintelligence AI team, which will now include Scale co-founder Alexandr Wang. Perica and Cue, who both report to Apple chief executive officer Tim Cook, are leading the AI acquisition and recruiting efforts. The hunt for talent is part of a bid to catch up in generative AI. The company was slow to deliver its Apple Intelligence platform and still lags rivals in key features. A revamped Siri was delayed indefinitely this year, with the company now aiming to have it ready by next spring. Apple unveiled a relatively meagre slate of new AI enhancements at its Worldwide Developers Conference earlier this month. The latest features include live translation capabilities and a deeper partnership with OpenAI on ChatGPT-based image generation. Buying Perplexity would give Apple an infusion of AI talent, a known brand in the AI space and a consumer product. A deal could also potentially assist with future recruiting efforts. Apple has also discussed an alternative plan: teaming up with Perplexity instead of buying it. A partnership would involve adding Perplexity as an AI search engine option in Apple's Safari web browser and integrating it into Siri. Apple has met multiple times in recent months with Perplexity, and its AI team has been actively evaluating the technology – a sign that it's at least considering a close relationship with the company. One major snag in the process could be an in-the-works deal between Perplexity and Samsung Electronics, which plans to announce a deep partnership with the startup. Samsung is Apple's biggest competitor in smartphones, and AI features have become a critical new arena for the two rivals. In its statement, Perplexity said it should not be surprising that top manufacturers want to offer the 'best search and more accurate AI for their users.' 'That's Perplexity,' the startup said. Cue, whose department includes Apple's streaming services and iCloud, previously expressed an interest in Perplexity. While testifying at the Google antitrust trial in May, he told jurors that the industry is shifting away from standard Internet searches to AI tools. He outlined a scenario in which AI search engines could quickly supersede Google's current offering. 'We have been pretty impressed with what Perplexity has done, so we have started some discussions with them about what they are doing,' he said. BLOOMBERG
