Deutsche Telecom teamed up with Perplexity to launch AI mobile phones to challenge Apple and Google ecosystem

At this year's Barcelona MWC Conference, Deutsche Telekom (DT) announced that it will launch an AI phone, in-depth cooperation with companies such as Perplexity and Picsart, and plans to officially go public in 2026. The device will be priced under $1,000 and will be available for the European market in the early days.

Claudia Nemat, a member of the Deutsche Telekom board and head of technology and innovation, emphasized at the press conference: "We are becoming an artificial intelligence company." However, she also pointed out that DT's goal is not to create large language models, but to develop AI agents to improve the user experience.

As an important partner of this cooperation, AI search engine company Perplexity is accelerating its transformation to AI agents. Its co-founder and CEO Aravind Srinivas said that in the future, Perplexity will not be limited to answering questions, but will also have the ability to book flights, send emails, and make phone calls.

According to reports, Perplexity is currently valued at about $9 billion, and the Silicon Valley startup is entering the mobile AI services field through cooperation with telecom operators. In January this year, Perplexity launched the Android version of the Assistant, which may become the core technical cornerstone of AI phones.

For a long time, telecom operators have faced strong dominance from Apple and Google in the smartphone market, and it is difficult to gain an advantage in the operating system and application ecosystem. DT joined hands with Perplexity to launch AI mobile phones in the hope of reshaping user experience with artificial intelligence technology and enhancing the voice of telecom companies in the mobile market.

Although Nemat did not disclose the specific specifications and operating system of the device, from the concept diagram, the device may be based on the Android system. DT said that AI phones will integrate AI technologies from companies such as Google Cloud, ElevenLabs, and Picsart, and are equipped with Magenta AI assistant to provide services to DT 300 million users.

Against the backdrop of fierce competition in the smartphone market and solidified industry structure, it remains to be seen whether DT and Perplexity's AI phones can break the existing ecosystem. However, this move shows that even traditional telecom operators are actively embracing the AI ​​wave and trying to reshape the market structure through technological innovation.