From The Verge · Jess Weatherbed · · 1m 10s
Google's Gemini 4 is coming soon, new DeepMind chief says
After falling behind rivals, Google promises its next flagship AI model will launch well before year's end.
In brief
After falling behind rivals, Google promises its next flagship AI model will launch well before year's end. Google is accelerating Gemini 4's release to regain ground lost to OpenAI and Anthropic in the AI race. Originally reported by The Verge.
Google's new AI chief takes the helm
Koray Kavukcuoglu made his first public appearance as leader of Google DeepMind, replacing Demis Hassabis who stepped down in August.
Gemini 4 arriving much sooner
Kavukcuoglu told The Information that Gemini 4 is in refinement and will launch "much earlier" than the end of 2026, with an early version coming as soon as possible.
“Our intention is to, like, as soon as possible, to release an early post-training output because we see the results and we are excited”
Google fell behind on AI releases
Google hasn't launched a new flagship model since Gemini 3 in November 2025, while OpenAI released GPT-6 and Anthropic released Mythos, both outperforming Gemini 3.
A missed update and strategic pivot
Google promised a Gemini 3.5 Pro update in June but never released it, choosing instead to focus on faster, less powerful Flash models.
Kavukcuoglu confident on frontier status
When asked about falling behind rivals, the new DeepMind chief said it's "a certainty that we are always gonna be at the frontier."
“In my mind, it's a certainty that we are always gonna be at the frontier.”
At a glance
Google is accelerating Gemini 4's release to regain ground lost to OpenAI and Anthropic in the AI race.
