Google Delays Gemini 3.5 Pro After Missing Internal Performance Goals

Google has delayed the launch of its flagship Gemini 3.5 Pro model after it failed to meet internal performance targets, particularly in coding, according to a Bloomberg report. 

The release, originally expected in June, is now running months behind schedule as the company continues refining the model.

Bloomberg reported that Google has been working to improve Gemini 3.5 Pro’s capabilities before making it publicly available. 

The delay comes as competition among AI model developers intensifies, with rivals launching increasingly capable frontier models, including OpenAI’s GPT-5.6, Anthropic’s Claude Sonnet 5 and Claude Fable 5, Meta’s Muse Spark 1.1, and xAI’s Grok 4.5.

Alphabet CEO Sundar Pichai had indicated during Google’s I/O developer conference in May that Gemini 3.5 Pro would be released in June. 

However, the model has yet to launch, with engineers continuing to address shortcomings in its performance. Bloomberg reported that Google updated Gemini’s training data in June in an effort to strengthen its coding abilities, but the results fell short of expectations.

The report said the delay has frustrated some employees, who are concerned that Google could lose ground to competitors that have accelerated the pace of model releases in recent months. The company is also balancing the challenge of integrating its AI technology across a broad portfolio of products while improving the underlying model’s capabilities.

The news weighed on investor sentiment, with Alphabet shares falling more than 4% on July 16 as concerns grew that Google may be slipping in the race to deliver leading AI models. 

Google has not publicly announced a revised launch date for Gemini 3.5 Pro. Bloomberg reported that the company is prioritising improvements to the model’s quality over meeting its original release timeline.