DeepMind's Gemini 4 Expected by End of 2026 Under New Leadership

Gemini 4 is currently in the early post-training phase and is expected to be released before the end of 2026. Koray Kavukcuoglu, who took over as head of Google DeepMind in August 2026, emphasizes maximizing the speed of learning over the pursuit of AGI, stating, "The conversation of [whether] we achieved AGI or not is not the right conversation." This shift in focus follows a challenging period for the lab, including the missed deadlines for the Gemini 3.5 Pro, which was announced in May 2026 but did not release in June as planned. The talent retention ratio at DeepMind has also declined significantly, with new hires to departures falling from 12:1 in Q2 2023 to just 2:1 in Q3 2026. Internal engineers are currently utilizing the Gemini model for the Antigravity coding tool. Demis Hassabis, the former CEO now chairing the unit, has expressed confidence in the proximity of achieving significant advancements, stating, "I feel it is close at hand." This marks a notable transition for DeepMind, as it integrates more closely with Google Brain, indicating that the era of DeepMind as an independent actor is over.