Google releases three new Gemini models — but no 3.5 Pro
Quick Answer
Google DeepMind launched three new Gemini models: 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, and 3.5 Flash Cyber, enhancing coding and cybersecurity capabilities while reducing costs.
Quick Take
Notably absent is the anticipated Gemini 3.5 Pro, which faces internal delays despite being tested with partners.
Key Points
- Gemini 3.6 Flash reduces token usage by 17% compared to 3.5 Flash.
- 3.5 Flash-Lite is the most cost-effective model in the Gemini lineup.
- 3.5 Flash Cyber is tailored for cybersecurity vulnerability detection.
- Gemini Pro's release is delayed due to internal performance goal challenges.
- Google aims to enhance efficiency and reliability for AI agent development.
DeepSignal Analysis
What happened
Google DeepMind has launched three new Gemini models: 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, and 3.5 Flash Cyber. These models focus on enhancing coding and cybersecurity capabilities while reducing costs. However, the anticipated Gemini 3.5 Pro is not included in this release due to internal delays.
Key evidence
- Gemini 3.6 Flash is designed to improve coding, knowledge work, and multimodal performance while reducing token usage by up to 17%.
- Gemini 3.5 Flash Cyber is tailored for identifying and addressing cybersecurity vulnerabilities and will be available exclusively to governments and trusted partners.
- Google's product lead mentioned that testing for Gemini 3.5 Pro is ongoing with partners, but internal performance goals have caused delays in its rollout.
Why it matters
The release of these new models reflects Google's efforts to remain competitive in the rapidly evolving AI landscape, especially as rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic continue to release advanced models. The absence of the Gemini 3.5 Pro raises questions about Google's ability to meet its performance targets and maintain its leadership position in AI development.
What to watch
📖 Reader Mode
~2 min readOn Tuesday, Google DeepMind released Gemini 3.6 Flash, 3.5 Flash-Lite, and 3.5 Flash Cyber. Gemini 3.6 Flash is Google’s “workhorse model” that promises improved capabilities in coding, knowledge work, and multimodal performance while reducing token usage by up to 17%, making it cheaper than its predecessor 3.5 Flash.
Gemini 3.5 Flash-Lite is the most cost-effective model in the class, and 3.5 Flash Cyber is a specialized model that was fine-tuned for finding and fixing cybersecurity vulnerabilities at a decent price point. This model will be exclusively available to governments and trusted partners as part of a limited access pilot program, according to Google.
Google says the focus on these releases is to deliver efficiency, latency, and reliability to customers that are building AI agents at scale.
The launch is notable not just for what Google shipped — cheaper, faster models optimized for coding, efficiency, and cybersecurity — but also for what it didn’t. The update doesn’t include the long-anticipated update to Google’s flagship model, Gemini Pro, which was last updated in February.
In the time since that launch, OpenAI has released GPT-5.5 and begun rolling out GPT-5.6, while Anthropic has launched Claude Opus 4.8 and Claude Sonnet 5 and has expanded access to its frontier Fable 5 model, highlighting the intense release pace of the rival labs.
Google teased the release of Pro as part of the 3.5 Flash release in May, saying the Pro version was “already being used internally, and we look forward to rolling it out next month.” Last week, Bloomberg reported that Google was facing internal delays in launching the 3.5 Pro as it struggled to meet internal performance goals.
Gemini Pro models are generally Google’s highest-capability offerings for complex reasoning and coding tasks, while Flash models prioritize lower cost and faster response times for production applications.
Google DeepMind product lead Logan Kilpatrick said Tuesday that the company is currently testing Gemini 3.5 Pro with partners and hopes to “land soon.” He also noted that the team has started its most ambitious pre-training run yet for Gemini 4.
When you purchase through links in our articles, we may earn a small commission. This doesn’t affect our editorial independence.
Rebecca Bellan is a senior reporter at TechCrunch where she covers the business, policy, and emerging trends shaping artificial intelligence. Her work has also appeared in Forbes, Bloomberg, The Atlantic, The Daily Beast, and other publications.
You can contact or verify outreach from Rebecca by emailing rebecca.bellan@techcrunch.com or via encrypted message at rebeccabellan.491 on Signal.
— Originally published at techcrunch.com
Want this in your inbox every morning?
Daily brief at your local 8am — bilingual EN/中文, free.
More from TechCrunch
See more →
AI chip startup Etched defies skeptics, hits $10.3B valuation from big-name investors
AI chip startup Etched has achieved a $10.3 billion valuation after a $300 million Series C funding round, led by Sequoia and supported by notable investors like Andreessen Horowitz. The company claims to have developed innovative low-voltage chips for AI inference, significantly enhancing performance and reducing costs, with $1 billion in orders already booked.
