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Google's Gemini 4: Coming Sooner Than You Think?

Google's Gemini 4: Coming Sooner Than You Think?

At The Information's AI Agenda Live event on September 23, Demis Hassabis, the head of Google DeepMind, dropped a bombshell: Google's next flagship model, Gemini 4, is already in its "early post-training" phase. That's the stage where the base model gets fine-tuned and its behavior becomes more reliable. In plain English? It's getting polished up for release.

Hassabis hopes Gemini 4 will launch "well before the end of the year," and he's clearly excited. "We saw the results and were very excited," he said, adding that Google will keep iterating rapidly after that. This will be Google's first next-gen flagship since the Gemini 3 series late last year. Remember Gemini 3.1 in February? And those smaller, cheaper Flash models? They were just appetizers.

Skipping 3.5 Pro, Going Straight to 4

Back in May, Google CEO Sundar Pichai promised a major update to Gemini 3.5 Pro in June. It never showed. Hassabis explained that after Gemini 3 and 3.1, Google decided to "take a step back" and focus on Flash models instead. "For us, the most important thing at that time was to accelerate learning as much as possible," he said. He didn't say if 3.5 Pro is officially canceled, but the message is clear: all eyes are on Gemini 4.

Already Running Internally, Safety Tests Underway

Worried Google is falling behind? Hassabis isn't. "I have 100% confidence in the team," he said. "Our team is incredibly strong, and I have the greatest trust in them; we will always be at the forefront of technology." Right now, Gemini 4 is in the safety testing and protection mechanism phase, and Google engineers are already using it internally to run the Antigravity AI programming tool.

Unlike some rivals, Hassabis didn't take a clear stance on whether we've achieved AGI. "Discussing whether AGI has been achieved is not the right direction," he said. "The real issue is whether we can build trustworthy agents." So, forget the AGI debate for now—Google's betting on practical, reliable AI.

Key Points

  • Gemini 4 is in post-training and could launch well before the end of the year.
  • Google skipped Gemini 3.5 Pro to focus on the next flagship.
  • Internal use and safety testing are already happening, with engineers using it for coding.
  • Hassabis is confident about the team's position in the AI race.
  • AGI debate? Hassabis says the real focus should be on trustworthy agents.

So, what does this mean for you? A smarter, faster Gemini could soon power more of your favorite tools. And if Hassabis's excitement is any sign, it might be worth the wait.