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Perplexity and Motorola Announce New Partnership To Bring AI To Smartphones

• Written by Andrea Miliani Former Tech News Expert
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

Perplexity and Motorola announced a new partnership this Thursday to bring AI features to the next generation of smartphones. Upcoming devices, including the new Razr series, will integrate Perplexity’s app along with customized features.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

• Perplexity and Motorola announced a new partnership to include AI features in the new devices’ hardware and software.
• Customers who purchase Razr and Edge 60 devices will get 3 months of Perplexity Pro at no cost.

According to Perplexity’s announcement , the two companies have collaborated to embed AI capabilities into both the hardware and software of the new devices.

“The Perplexity app will come pre-installed on all new Motorola devices, making our search capabilities immediately available,” wrote the AI startup. “But it’s not just about saving you a trip to the Play Store. We’ve created custom optimizations for Motorola’s hardware and software.”

The company highlighted that the new Razr devices will include an external display AI feature, and users will be able to interact with Perplexity’s AI assistant and will connect with Moto AI—Motorola’s integrated artificial intelligence platform.

“This is one of our first and most comprehensive integrations with a mobile phone brand, designed to provide a seamless search and assistant experience directly within Motorola’s ecosystem,” states the document.

Perplexity also recently announced its new Voice Assistant feature, which will be a key feature in the new partnership with Motorola to assist users in multiple tasks.

Starting today, Perplexity will come pre-installed on all new Motorola phones. Users will have direct access to search and assistant features across the @Moto ecosystem, including a 3-month Pro subscription. pic.twitter.com/2VuITn1NUT — Perplexity (@perplexity_ai) April 24, 2025

The AI startup also announced that customers with Razr and Edge 60 devices will get 3 months of Perplexity Pro for free, with access to exclusive features such as Deep Research and Pro Shopping features.

According to CNBC , Perplexity’s new partnership to join the smartphone market to expand AI features—the way Apple and OpenAI recently announced —is focused on distribution and user adoption rather than revenue.

“We’re not making money off their sales or anything like that,” said Perplexity CEO Aravind Srinivas to CNBC in a recent interview. “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.”

Srinivas expects to make it easier for users to use AI daily and take advantage of the features. “Your phone is now an answer machine, personal assistant and a research agent,” said Srinivas in a New York event on Wednesday.

Perplexity has been expanding and integrating new features into its AI models as well. A few months ago, the company announced a new integration with the Chinese AI model DeepSeek into its platform.

Image by Solen Feyissa, from Unsplash

South Korea Halts DeepSeek Over Data Privacy Breach

• Written by Kiara Fabbri Former Tech News Writer
• Fact-Checked by Sarah Frazier Former Content Manager

South Korea’s data watchdog has accused Chinese AI app DeepSeek of transferring personal user data abroad without consent, prompting legal action and policy scrutiny.

In a rush? Here are the quick facts:

• DeepSeek transferred user data to China and U.S. without consent.
• South Korea’s PIPC suspended the app in February.
• AI prompts and device info sent to Volcano Engine.

South Korean privacy watchdogs discovered that DeepSeek, a Chinese artificial intelligence app, moved personal data and user-entered prompts outside the country without obtaining user consent, as first reported by Reuters .

The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) said on Thursday that while DeepSeek was available for download in South Korea earlier this year, it collected data from users and sent it to companies in China and the U.S. Reuters reports that this included sensitive information such as text users typed into the app, along with their device and network details.

Volcano Engine, which operates as a Beijing-based cloud service, received one of the transfers. The PIPC stated that DeepSeek transferred the data to “enhance user experience” without notifying users or seeking their consent for the data sharing, as noted by Reuters.

Aljazeera reports that Nam Seok, head of the commission’s investigation bureau, confirmed during a press conference that DeepSeek “acknowledged it had insufficiently considered Korea’s data protection laws” and “expressed its willingness to cooperate with the commission, and voluntarily suspended new downloads.”

Following this discovery, the app was removed from South Korean app stores in February. On Thursday, Reuters reported that the commission issued a corrective recommendation which required DeepSeek to delete all prompt data it had sent, and to establish a legal process for future overseas data transfers.

In response to the controversy, China’s Foreign Ministry insisted that it values user privacy and does not pressure companies to gather data illegally. “We have never – and will never – require companies or individuals to collect or store data through illegal means,” ministry spokesperson Guo Jiakun said, as reported by Aljazeera.