Alphabet’s Google is running significantly behind schedule on the launch of its most powerful artificial intelligence model, Gemini 3.5 Pro, as the company works to strengthen the technology’s abilities — especially in the area of coding, according to a Bloomberg News report published Thursday.
The delay is happening at a time of intense competition in the AI industry, where developers are racing to improve model performance, lower costs, and expand tools for business customers. That race has produced a constant flow of new AI systems and reasoning models across the industry.
Here is what we know about the situation:
Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai had indicated at Google’s annual I/O developer conference in May that the model would be available in June. That deadline has now passed.
According to Bloomberg News, which cited 10 current and former Google employees, the delay has left some of the company’s engineers, AI researchers, and managers feeling uneasy — particularly as competitors OpenAI and Anthropic have been releasing models that are outpacing Gemini.
Google made an attempt late last month to improve the situation by updating the data used to train Gemini, but the results did not meet the company’s internal expectations, Bloomberg News reported.
Following the report’s publication, Alphabet’s stock fell by close to 3%.
A company spokesperson responded to Reuters with this statement: “We’re currently testing 3.5 Pro, an upgraded Flash model, and other models with partners, and we’re productively engaged with the U.S. government.”
The spokesperson also added: “We’re shipping quickly across a wide range of models while keeping them highly cost-effective for customers.”
Meanwhile, OpenAI rolled out GPT-5.6, its most advanced AI model, last week. That release had also been delayed after the U.S. government raised national security concerns about the potential for powerful AI technology to be misused.
Separately, Anthropic had temporarily shut down access to its most advanced AI models — Mythos 5 and Fable 5 — for all users following a U.S. export control order issued on June 12, also citing national security concerns. Those restrictions were lifted in late June after Anthropic put additional safeguards in place.
