TechAINewsGemini 4 is almost ready, says new Google DeepMind chiefThe new frontier AI model should arrive long before the end of 2026.The new frontier AI model should arrive long before the end of 2026.by Jess WeatherbedSep 24, 2026, 9:04 AM UTCShareGiftImage: Cath Virginia / The VergeJess Weatherbed is a news writer focused on creative industries, computing, and internet culture. Jess started her career at TechRadar, covering news and hardware reviews.Google is reportedly nearing the launch of its long awaited Gemini 4 model, after dawdling behind rival developers on flagship AI releases. Speaking with The Information during his first media appearance as the leader of Google’s DeepMind division, Koray Kavukcuoglu said that Gemini 4 is currently in its refinement stage, and that the company is aiming to launch the model “much earlier” than the end of the year.“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,” Kavukcuoglu told the publication, adding that Google would “continue the fast-paced iterations” going forward. This hopefully marks Google returning to a more consistent AI release timeline following a shakeup at DeepMind’s top leadership, with former AI head Demis Hassabis stepping down in August after announcing that “great progress” was being made on Gemini 4.Google hasn’t released a new flagship AI model since the Gemini 3 series in November 2025.
OpenAI’s GPT-6 and Anthropic’s Mythos series models have launched since then. Both outperform Gemini 3 and give the rival AI providers a sizable lead against Google in the AI race. Google CEO Sundar Pichai said at the I/O event in May that a major Gemini 3.5 Pro update would be coming in June to help bridge the gap, but the model was never rolled out.Kavukcuoglu said the company “took a little bit of a step back” to focus on introducing faster, less powerful Flash models instead of releasing Gemini 3.5 Pro. When asked whether he was concerned about Google falling behind its rivals on AI development, he told The Information that “In my mind, it’s a certainty that we are always gonna be at the frontier.”Follow topics and authors from this story to see more like this in your personalized homepage feed and to receive email updates.Jess WeatherbedAIGoogleNewsTechMost PopularAnthropic’s biolab made a discovery it’s comparing to CrisprMeta’s next VR device isn’t a headset — it’s glassesMeta ditches the camera on its newest smart glassesMeta Connect 2026: The 7 biggest announcementsMeta is making a standalone Muse AI gadgetAdvertiser Content FromThis is the title for the native ad
