Perplexity AI has forged a notable partnership with Motorola that will see its AI-powered search assistant pre-installed on new Motorola smartphones, beginning with updated Razr models.
This arrangement provides users direct access to Perplexity’s features within the Motorola ecosystem, which Motorola states will include a tailored user interface and feature in marketing campaigns. The integration is part of Motorola’s broader “Moto AI” suite, suggesting Perplexity will co-exist with other AI features like Google Gemini and Motorola’s own system rather than immediately replacing them. As part of the launch, Motorola users will receive a complimentary three-month trial of Perplexity Pro.
However, the integration faces immediate constraints revealed during Google’s ongoing antitrust trial. Testimony on April 24 from Perplexity Chief Business Officer Dmitry Shevelenko indicated that Google’s existing agreement with Motorola prevents Perplexity from being set as the default AI assistant or appearing on the home screen initially, despite both Perplexity and Motorola reportedly wanting this deeper integration.
This distribution-focused deal still marks a significant step for Perplexity in gaining wider user access, placing its technology directly into the competitive arena occupied by Google Gemini and Apple’s Siri.
Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas characterized the deal to CNBC as primarily focused on user acquisition rather than immediate revenue sharing, stating, “We’re not making money off their sales or anything like that. We’re looking for usage, and they’re looking for introducing amazing new, cool features, so it’s like a win-win for both of us.”
His vision, shared onstage Wednesday, is for the phone to become “an answer machine, personal assistant and a research agent.” Nicole Hagen, Motorola’s head of product marketing, echoed the sentiment at the event, stating, “Fifteen years ago, smartphones changed everything. Now, we are standing at the edge of a major shift, once again, in technology.”
AI Assistants Battle for Smartphone Real Estate
Perplexity’s entry onto Motorola devices, albeit in a non-default capacity for now, occurs as competition for AI placement intensifies and tech giants face regulatory examination. The remedies phase of the U.S. Department of Justice’s antitrust case against Google, which began April 21, cast light on this competitive dynamic.
The DOJ is scrutinizing Google’s multi-billion dollar deals – like its arrangement paying Samsung “enormous sums” monthly since January 2025 for Gemini AI pre-installation (a practice costing Google a reported total of $26.3 billion across all partners in 2021) – arguing these replicate the monopolistic search practices Judge Mehta ruled illegal last August.
Testimony confirmed the pressure: Google VP Peter Fitzgerald stated Motorola was engaging with AI firms, “including Perplexity.” Furthermore, internal Google documents revealed OpenAI, Microsoft, and Meta had also approached Samsung about integrating their chatbots onto Galaxy devices.
The DOJ is pushing for remedies, including a ban on exclusive default deals for both search and AI products. “The antitrust laws are designed to adapt to advances in technology, the oil companies and railroads of yesterday are the internet and search engines of today,” stated DOJ lawyer David Dahlquist, aiming for remedies that would “allow that block of ice to thaw.”
Google counsel John Schmidtlein countered that the DOJ’s proposed remedies, like potentially forcing a sale of Chrome, are “extreme” and “fundamentally flawed.”
Perplexity’s Strategy Beyond Motorola
This Motorola partnership aligns with Perplexity’s broader strategy to expand its reach. The company previously announced a deal with Deutsche Telekom for an AI-focused smartphone slated for release later in 2025. Product expansion has also been rapid, including the Sonar API for enterprise use in January 2025, followed shortly by its multimodal AI assistant app for Android.
The company has also added native in-search shopping capabilities via a partnership with Firmly and is developing its own “Comet” browser.
This expansion is backed by significant funding momentum; after a reported $500M round led by IVP resulted in a $9 billion valuation in December 2024, Perplexity was reportedly in talks as of late March 2025 to raise up to $1 billion more at a target valuation of $18 billion. These moves illustrate a company aggressively seeking scale and integration across platforms, directly competing with established search and AI offerings from Google, Microsoft, and OpenAI.
Security Questions Linger Over Pre-Installed App
While Perplexity gains ground in distribution, questions surrounding its application security persist, particularly relevant now that the app will be pre-installed. A security audit published by Appknox just days before the Motorola announcement, on April 21, flagged several critical vulnerabilities in Perplexity’s Android app.
The report cited hardcoded API keys, improper CORS configurations (weakening browser security), lack of SSL pinning (exposing users to Man-in-the-Middle attacks where communication could be intercepted), and un-obfuscated code making reverse-engineering easier.
Appknox concluded the app was “unsafe,” drawing parallels to flaws previously found in the Deepseek AI app. Appknox CEO Subho Halder stated, “Our testing highlights critical vulnerabilities in Perplexity AI that expose users to a variety of risks, including data theft, reverse engineering, and exploitation… It’s crucial for the developers to address these issues swiftly. In the meantime, users should be cautious about using the app, particularly for sensitive activities.”
This isn’t the first time Perplexity has faced scrutiny; past reports from Forbes and Wired alleged aggressive web scraping and ignoring publisher protocols, which Perplexity denied. The company also previously addressed privacy concerns regarding its use of the Chinese-developed DeepSeek model, assuring users data wasn’t sent to China.
While Perplexity maintains a security policy page outlining measures like data segregation and access controls, the audit raises questions about the application’s implementation security as it rolls out to a wider audience via pre-installation.
