Google is reportedly nearing the launch of its long-awaited Gemini 4 model, following a period of lagging behind rival developers in flagship AI releases. Speaking with The Information during his first media appearance as the leader of Google’s DeepMind division, Koray Kavukcuoglu stated that Gemini 4 is currently in its refinement stage.
Timeline and Strategic Shift
Kavukcuoglu revealed that the company is aiming to launch the model “much earlier” than the end of 2026. “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,” he told the publication, adding that Google intends to return to a pace of consistent iterations.
This shift follows a leadership shakeup at DeepMind, where former head Demis Hassabis stepped down in August after noting that “great progress” was being made on the Gemini 4 project.
Closing the Competitive Gap
Google’s last flagship release was the Gemini 3 series in November 2025. Since then, OpenAI’s GPT-6 and Anthropic’s Mythos series have entered the market, both of which outperform Gemini 3 and have granted rivals a sizable lead. Although CEO Sundar Pichai had announced a major Gemini 3.5 Pro update for June 2026 to bridge this gap, the model was never rolled out.
Kavukcuoglu explained that the company “took a little bit of a step back” to prioritize faster, less powerful Flash models over the Gemini 3.5 Pro release. When questioned about falling behind, he maintained a confident stance: “In my mind, it’s a certainty that we are always gonna be at the frontier.”
