Closing the performance gap against rival AI developers is driving Google’s latest release timeline. Speaking with The Information at the AI Agenda Live Summit, newly appointed Google DeepMind chief Koray Kavukcuoglu confirmed that Gemini 4 is currently in its post-training stage, with Google aiming to launch the new flagship model much earlier than the end of the year.
The announcement marked Kavukcuoglu’s first media appearance since taking over top leadership at DeepMind following former AI head Demis Hassabis stepping down in August, after noting that great progress was underway on Gemini 4.
Moving past Gemini 3 and fine-tuning for release
Reaching the post-training phase means Google has finished pre-training the base architecture. At this point, the firm is actively fine-tuning the model for safety, alignment, and reliable real-world output. Kavukcuoglu explained that Google intends to release an early post-training output as soon as possible based on promising internal results. He also promised fast-paced iterations going forward.
Google hasn’t released a flagship model since the Gemini 3 series back in November 2025. CEO Sundar Pichai announced at Google I/O in May that a major Gemini 3.5 Pro update would land in June to help bridge the gap. However, the company never rolled it out. Instead, Google took a step back from Gemini 3.5 Pro to focus on launching faster, lighter Flash models.
Catching up with OpenAI, Anthropic, and Meta
That delay allowed competitors to build a noticeable lead in the market. OpenAI released GPT-6 and Anthropic launched its Mythos series models, both outperforming Gemini 3. Meanwhile, Meta’s AI products gained surging popularity through September.
Despite rival releases, Kavukcuoglu dismissed concerns about Google permanently losing ground. He stated it remains a certainty in his mind that Google will always operate at the technological frontier. With post-training refinement underway, the coming months will show whether Gemini 4 can restore Google’s momentum across its consumer products and enterprise services.
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