Samsung is said to be considering establishing a strategic partnership with artificial intelligence startup Perplexity, a move that could mark a turning point in the long-standing relationship between the Korean technology company and Google. Some sources say that this collaboration process may start right from the Galaxy S26 series.
If the partnership is rolled out, Samsung will install the Perplexity app and assistant on Galaxy devices, while integrating the startup's AI technology into the Samsung web browser. Perplexity can also be integrated into the Bixby voice assistant, helping to improve the AI ecosystem developed by Samsung itself.
Perplexity is currently a rapidly growing search and AI assistant platform, competing directly with giants like Google Search and Microsoft Copilot. This AI assistant not only answers individual questions but can also handle complex queries, support subsequent questions and provide a source of leads in each answer to increase transparency. With high accuracy and the ability to exploit real-time data, Perplexity is attracting the attention of many large corporations.
Samsung may make Perplexity the default assistant option on the Galaxy S26, although it is unclear whether this startup will completely replace or only play a role as a supplement to Bixby and Google Assistant. This is reminiscent of 2023, when there was information that Samsung considered moving the device's default search engine from Google to Bing, causing Google to fall into a state of concern, although this decision was later not implemented.
Currently, with a plan to cooperate with Perplexity, Samsung continues to show its strategy of finding alternatives to Google in the AI field. Notably, Perplexity not only attracts Samsung but is also the focus of other names in the industry.
Samsung has made Perplexity one of four AI assistants built into the Razr 2025 lineup, along with Google Gemini, Microsoft Copilot and Samsung Moto AI. Meanwhile, Apple has also expressed interest, with Vice President Eddy Cue saying he is " quite impressed with what Perplexity has done".
Samsung could become one of the largest investors in Perplexity's new round of call. This startup is aiming to raise $500 million and raise its valuation to $14 billion. If the cooperation goes as planned, the relationship between Samsung and Google will be at risk of serious cracks, especially in the context of increasingly fierce AI competition.
