Google pays Samsung a hefty sum to preinstall Gemini on devices amid antitrust scrutiny

Alphabet Inc. has been paying Samsung Electronics an “enormous sum of money” every month to have its generative AI app preinstalled on the manufacturer’s devices.

The revelation came during court testimony in the ongoing antitrust case against Google in Washington, D.C. and is part of the Justice Department’s examination of Google’s practice of paying device manufacturers to have its apps preinstalled.

The arrangement to have Gemini preinstalled began in January 2024, Peter Fitzgerald, Google’s vice president of platforms and device partnerships, testified. He said the contract with Samsung is for at least two years.

Google, he said, pays Samsung both a fixed monthly sum and a share of the revenue generated from ads within the app. The Justice Department is trying to get to the bottom of Google’s business practices and whether they are anti-competitive.

Judge Amit Mehta has already ruled against Google’s payments to Samsung to make Google Search the default search engine on its devices, deeming that practice illegal.

While the enormous monthly sum Google is paying Samsung to have Gemini preinstalled wasn’t revealed during the testimony, DOJ lawyer David Dahlquist did say it was “enormous” in reference to the monthly payments.

The revelation comes after reports Google paid Samsung $8 billion between 2020 and 2023 to maintain the status of its services as defaults.

In a separate case, a judge ruled Google abused its power in the Android app marketplace, ordering the removal of restrictions on rival app marketplaces. Google is appealing that decision.

The ongoing scrutiny into Google’s business practices is likely to have a huge impact on how it operates within a highly competitive tech landscape.