Google paid Samsung big to preinstall Gemini AI, authorities push...
Alphabet Inc, the parent company of Google, has been paying Samsung Electronics a large sum of money every month to have its generative AI app, Gemini, preinstalled on Samsung devices. This was revealed during a recent antitrust hearing in a Washington federal court. Peter Fitzgerald, Google’s vice president of platforms and device partnerships, confirmed in court that the payments to Samsung began in January and are part of a deal that lasts at least two years. The contract provides Samsung with fixed monthly payments for every device that comes with Gemini pre-installed, according to Bloomberg. In addition, Samsung also earns a share of the revenue that Google makes from ads inside the Gemini app.
Competitive Offers from Major Tech Companies
Fitzgerald testified that Samsung had also received “competitive offers” from other major tech companies such as Microsoft, Meta, and OpenAI to feature their AI apps. “We took into consideration what was being offered by competitors,” he said.
US Authorities' Attention
While Google’s agreement with Samsung gives the phone maker the option to include other AI services, the move has caught the attention of US authorities. Judge Amit Mehta, who is overseeing the trial, had already ruled last year that Google violated antitrust laws by paying Samsung to make its search engine the default on Samsung phones. The Justice Department has proposed banning Google from paying companies to make its search engine or AI products the default on devices. Although the exact amount of money paid to Samsung for Gemini wasn’t shared in court, DOJ lawyer David Dahlquist called it an “enormous sum of money in a fixed monthly payment.”
Previous Payments to Samsung by Google
In a separate case, it was revealed that Google paid Samsung $8 billion between 2020 and 2023 to ensure that Google Search, the Play Store, and Google Assistant were the default on Samsung devices. In 2023, a federal jury ruled that Google misused its power in the Android app market, and a judge later ordered Google to ease restrictions that block rival marketplaces and billing systems.
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