Google DeepMind chief says Gemini 4 release coming 'as soon as possible'

September 24, 2026 at 02:04 PM2 min

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Google DeepMind chief Koray Kavukcuoglu said the company aims to release its next flagship AI model, Gemini 4, 'as soon as possible' and 'much earlier' than the end of 2026. The model is currently in post-training refinement, with internal testing already underway. The announcement comes after Google has not released a flagship model since Gemini 3 in November 2025, while rivals OpenAI and Anthropic have launched newer models.

Key Facts

Gemini 4 is in post-training refinement, with internal testing underway using the model to power Google's coding tool Antigravity.
Kavukcuoglu said Google aims to release Gemini 4 'much earlier' than the end of 2026, but no specific date was given.
Google's last flagship model release was Gemini 3 in November 2025, followed by Gemini 3.1 Pro in February 2026.
OpenAI launched GPT-6 models starting in early September 2026, and Anthropic released its Mythos/Fable family in spring 2026 and updated it this month.
CEO Sundar Pichai announced Gemini 3.5 Pro at I/O in May for a June release, but the model never shipped.

Gemini 4 Release Timeline

Kavukcuoglu, speaking at The Information's AI Agenda Live Summit, said Gemini 4 has entered post-training, a phase involving safety testing and guardrails. He stated Google's intention is to release an early post-training output 'as soon as possible' because the team is excited by the results. The company expects the release to come 'much earlier' than the end of 2026, though no specific date was shared. Google engineers are already using Gemini 4 internally to power the coding tool Antigravity.

Competitive Pressure

Google has not released a new flagship AI model since the Gemini 3 series in November 2025. Since then, OpenAI has launched GPT-6 models and Anthropic has released its Mythos series, both of which outperform Gemini 3. CEO Sundar Pichai announced at I/O in May that Gemini 3.5 Pro would arrive in June to bridge the gap, but the model was never rolled out. Kavukcuoglu said Google took 'a little bit of a step back' to focus on faster, less powerful Flash models instead of releasing Gemini 3.5 Pro. When asked about falling behind, Kavukcuoglu said, 'In my mind, it's a certainty that we are always gonna be at the frontier.'