Perplexity AI Targets Smartphone Integration with Motorola Deal, Samsung Discussions Underway

Perplexity AI Inc., the San Francisco-based startup positioning itself as a next-generation search and virtual assistant company, is making strategic moves to embed its assistant technology in mobile devices. The company is currently in advanced stages of a partnership with Lenovo Group Ltd.’s Motorola, and is in preliminary talks with Samsung Electronics Co., according to individuals familiar with the matter.

Motorola Partnership to Be Announced April 24

The most imminent development is with Motorola, which plans to unveil its partnership with Perplexity at an event in New York City on April 24. The deal will see the Perplexity assistant preloaded on Motorola devices, specifically as an alternative to Google’s Gemini AI, and integrated with a customized user interface tailored for Motorola’s updated Razr foldable phones.

Motorola is expected to actively market the Perplexity assistant, signaling a notable endorsement of the startup’s capabilities. While Motorola’s smartphone market share is relatively modest, the agreement marks a significant step for Perplexity in gaining consumer exposure.

Talks with Samsung in Early Stages

Concurrently, Perplexity is in early discussions with Samsung, the world’s largest smartphone manufacturer by volume. While a finalized deal has not been reached, potential arrangements could include:

• Preloading Perplexity’s Android app on Samsung smartphones.
• Offering the assistant as a default AI assistant option.
• Prominent promotion within the Galaxy Store.

Negotiations are reportedly complicated by Samsung’s deep integration with Alphabet Inc., which supplies the Google search engine and Gemini AI for Samsung devices. However, Samsung has been building ties with Perplexity since its venture arm, Samsung NEXT, invested in the startup in 2024. A follow-on investment is also reportedly under consideration.

Funding Drive and Expanding Market Presence

Perplexity is concurrently pursuing a major funding round, seeking to raise between $500 million and $1 billion, which would reportedly double its valuation to $18 billion. Bloomberg previously reported on the company’s ongoing talks with investors.

Founded in 2022, Perplexity has quickly gained traction with its real-time search interface, offering users in-depth results from a variety of sources. Its assistant is capable of leveraging large language models from OpenAI and Anthropic, in addition to its own technologies.

Earlier in 2025, Perplexity struck a deal with Deutsche Telekom AG to power an AI-first smartphone in Europe, planned for release later this year. This marked the company’s first large-scale hardware integration.

Competitive Landscape

Perplexity’s push into smartphones puts it in direct competition with tech giants like Google, Apple, and OpenAI, which have been embedding their AI platforms—Gemini, Siri (with rumored generative updates), and ChatGPT—across various ecosystems.

Samsung currently offers its in-house assistant, Bixby, alongside Google’s AI tools. Similarly, Motorola provides access to both its own AI features and Google’s Gemini. The integration of Perplexity’s assistant would give users yet another choice, potentially disrupting the status quo in voice and AI assistant dominance on Android devices.

If deals with both Motorola and Samsung materialize, it would represent a significant foothold for Perplexity in the highly competitive mobile assistant space, potentially reshaping the landscape of AI integration in consumer smartphones.