Google has moved Gemini 4 to the post-training phase and intends to put a first version of the new model on the market before the end of 2026. Koray Kavukcuoglu, operational leader of Google DeepMind, said on Wednesday (23) that the launch should take place “well before” the end of the year, according to The Information.
Post-training takes place after the base model is created and focuses on adjustments designed to improve behavior, reliability, and performance on specific tasks. Kavukcuoglu said that Gemini 4 is still in the early stages of this phase, but indicated that Google wants to quickly make an initial version available and continue refining the system through new iterations.
The update reduces uncertainty about the timeline for the company's next frontier model. In July, Google had confirmed only the start of its “most ambitious pre-training to date” for Gemini 4, without disclosing a launch forecast. Two months later, the transition to post-training indicates that the construction of the base model has already advanced to a new stage.
Gemini 4 becomes a priority after changes at DeepMind
The model will also be the first major test of Google DeepMind's new command structure. Kavukcuoglu took over operational leadership of the division in August, while Demis Hassabis began serving as president of the lab and chief scientist of Alphabet. The executive now oversees the development of the Gemini models, frontier research, and the product and developer teams.
Google had been focusing its recent launches on faster and more efficient models. In July, it introduced the Gemini 3.6 Flash and the 3.5 Flash-Lite, while Gemini 3.5 Pro remained in testing with partners. At the time, the company already said that Gemini 4 would be necessary to compete in the next generation of frontier models.
Kavukcuoglu did not provide a specific date, prices, context limits, or details of the Gemini 4 architecture. The confirmation so far is that post-training has begun and that Google intends to release a first version before the broader end-of-year deadline.
