Samsung is reportedly nearing a deal to invest $500 million in Perplexity AI at a $14 billion valuation, with plans to integrate the startup's technology into upcoming Galaxy devices, including pre-installation on the Galaxy S26 series. The partnership would see Perplexity's app and assistant pre-installed on Samsung phones, its search features integrated into the Samsung web browser, and its AI capabilities used to upgrade Samsung's Bixby virtual assistant. The agreement, expected to be announced later this year, could make Perplexity a default AI assistant option on the Galaxy S26, which is slated for release in the first half of 2026. Samsung's move is intended to reduce its reliance on Google, whose Gemini AI assistant is currently the default on Samsung devices. The companies are also discussing joint development of an AI-powered operating system and AI agents. This would be Perplexity's largest mobile partnership to date, following a similar integration with Motorola. Apple has also reportedly held discussions to use Perplexity as a search option in Safari and as an alternative to ChatGPT in Siri. The potential shift comes after it was revealed that Google pays Samsung substantial sums for default placement of its Gemini AI assistant, amid ongoing antitrust scrutiny of Google's dominance in online search.