How Samsung's AI Drive Helps Alphabet's (GOOGL) Gemini Ambitions

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) is one of the 8 best American stocks to buy and hold in 2026. On January 5, Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) investors received positive news from South Korea, where Samsung’s leadership announced it planned to double the number of smartphones offering Google Gemini-backed ‘Galaxy AI’ features, as reported by Reuters. This would take the total number of mobile devices using Gemini-powered AI to 800 million.

Samsung’s move is set to boost Alphabet’s plans to compete with OpenAI and attract more customers to its AI models. OpenAI launched its GPT-5.2 model only a few weeks after Gemini 3 in November last year. Samsung’s confidence in accelerating its AI deployments using Gemini is a big positive for Alphabet. The fact that timing is important in AI development was also made clear by Samsung President T M Roh’s words:

”We will apply AI to all products, all functions, and all services as quickly as possible.”

Samsung is racing to surpass Apple in the smartphone market, an objective that directly benefits Alphabet investors, as Samsung is also the largest backer of Android, Alphabet’s smartphone operating system.

Over the past month, Alphabet Inc.’s (NASDAQ:GOOGL) stock has outperformed the broader market, gaining 6.8%. In mid-December, Doug Anmuth, an analyst at JPMorgan, projected that the stock could surge a further 23% in 2026, as he believes the company’s leadership in full-stack AI and rapid growth in Google Cloud are expected to drive this growth. The firm raised its price target to $385 while maintaining a Buy rating. Around the same time, analysts at Mizuho also raised GOOGL’s price target to $385, implying a similar upside potential.

Alphabet Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOGL) provides different platforms and products across the United States, the Asia-Pacific, Latin America, the Middle East, Canada, Europe, and Africa. The company operates through the Google Cloud, Google Services, and Other Bets segments. It is based in Mountain View, California.

While we acknowledge the potential of GOOGL as an investment, we believe certain AI stocks offer greater upside potential and carry less downside risk. If you’re looking for an extremely undervalued AI stock that also stands to benefit significantly from Trump-era tariffs and the onshoring trend, see our free report on the best short-term AI stock.

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Disclosure: None. This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.