Google is paying Samsung an ‘enormous sum’ to preinstall Gemini
- Google is paying Samsung an “enormous sum” each month to preinstall the Gemini AI app on Samsung devices, according to testimony from Google’s vice president of platforms and device partnerships.
- The deal, which started in January, also includes a two-year agreement where Google gives Samsung a percentage of its subscription revenue for the Gemini app.
- Google’s lawyers are sparring with the DOJ over how severe a potential penalty should be after Judge Amit Mehta ruled that Google’s search engine is an illegal monopoly.
- The deal was not unique to Google, as other companies including Perplexity and Microsoft had also pitched Samsung on similar preinstallation deals for their AI assistant apps.
- If the DOJ has its way, Google could be forbidden from striking default placement deals in the future, selling Chrome, and forced to license most of the data that powers Google Search.
Testimony this week from Google’s antitrust trial shows that Google gives Samsung an “enormous sum of money” each month to preinstall the Gemini AI app on Samsung devices, reports Bloomberg. Now that Judge Amit Mehta has ruled Google’s search engine is an illegal monopoly, its lawyers are sparring with the DOJ over how severe a potential penalty should be.
Peter Fitzgerald, Google’s vice president of platforms and device partnerships, testified on Monday that Google’s payments to Samsung started in January. That’s after Google was found to have violated antitrust law, partially due to similar arrangements with Apple, Samsung, and other companies for search. When Samsung launched the Galaxy S25 series in January, it also added Gemini as the default AI assistant when long-pressing the power button, with its own Bixby assistant taking a back seat.
The Information reports that today Fitzgerald testified that other companies had pitched Samsung on deals to preinstall their AI assistant apps, including Perplexity and Microsoft. But a DOJ lawyer pointed out that Google’s letters attempting to amend its deal with phone makers, which the company presented at the hearing, were only sent last week, just ahead of the trial. Also, internal slides presented today apparently showed that Google “was considering more restrictive distribution agreements that would have required partners to preinstall Gemini alongside Search and Chrome,” The Information writes.
According to Bloomberg, Fitzgerald said the Gemini deal is a two-year agreement that, along with fixed monthly payments, sees Google giving Samsung a percentage of its subscription revenue for the Gemini app. Department of Justice (DOJ) lawyer David Dahlquist called the fixed monthly payment an “enormous sum,” Bloomberg says. Exactly how enormous isn’t known.
If the DOJ has its way, the results of these hearings could mean Google is forbidden from striking default placement deals in the future, would sell Chrome, and would be forced to license the vast majority of the data that powers Google Search. Google has argued that it should only have to give up the default placement deals.
Correction April 26th: This story previously said Samsung receives a percentage of ads revenue from the Gemini app, as originally reported by Bloomberg. We’ve updated the story to reflect that Google shares Gemini subscription revenue instead.