AI: Google takes a victory lap with Gemini 3. RTZ #911
Well, Google saw OpenAI’s ‘warmer’ ChatGPT 5.1 and raised it a tad with Google Gemini 3 today. It was anticipated for a while this AI Tech Wave. And the launch today to its paying customers does not seem to disappoint.
This version of Google’s latest LLM AI Gemini models do seem to do more AI things with panahce. All the while doing better than its peers on AI comparison benchmarks.
The New York Times lay it out well in “Google Unveils Gemini 3, With Improved Coding and Search Abilities”:
“The new artificial intelligence model is the second the company has released this year. OpenAI and Anthropic made similar updates a few months ago.”
“After several years of criticism that it was lagging behind in artificial intelligence, Google is turning up its competition with smaller start-ups like OpenAI and Anthropic.”
“On Tuesday, Google released a new artificial intelligence model, Gemini 3, that improves on its predecessor’s ability to create software programs, organize email and help businesses analyze documents. It can also mix graphics and text together when responding to requests involving travel itineraries, history or art.”
“Google said the model, one of a handful of big A.I. projects competing for industry leadership, would be available in its Gemini app and could be used to fulfill Google Search queries in AI Mode, a conversational search feature it introduced this year.”
And it’s impacting its peers already:
“The impending release of Google’s newest model stoked anxiety inside the companies that jump-started the A.I. arms race. At OpenAI and Anthropic, two of Google’s closest A.I. rivals, workers have speculated that it could be bad for their businesses if Google’s models outperform theirs in tasks like autonomous coding or image generation, two people with knowledge of the discussions said.”
““We’re in a situation where — because of Google’s size and space and their first-mover advantage in search — Gemini could take market share and cause OpenAI and others to fall behind,” said Mike O’Rourke, the chief market strategist at JonesTrading, an institutional trading firm. He said such a turn toward Gemini could ripple through the market, raising questions for companies like Oracle and Microsoft, which OpenAI has committed to pay billions of dollars for computing.”
All this is more fodder for the market trying to gauge the near and long terms winners and losers in the AI Race:
“The A.I. boom is also facing questions about whether the soaring costs of the technology can be justified by the business opportunities it is creating. A.I. systems today are primarily used to fulfill traditional internet search queries and help software engineers automate computer programming.”
“But the technology runs in massive data centers filled with expensive supercomputers, which the industry is expected to spend nearly $7 trillion to build by 2030, according to McKinsey & Company. Across Wall Street, investors have grown skeptical that companies like Anthropic, OpenAI, Microsoft and Google can generate sufficient sales to cover their spending.”
“We need to get to a point where we see very capable, high quality use cases to see the revenue start to flow,” said Ben Bajarin, principal analyst at Creative Strategies, a technology analysis firm. “We’re not there yet.”
Notably, Google is also making strides in Gemini Distribution, relative to OpenAI’s declared 700 million+ weekly users of ChatGPT:
“Google has made strides in Gemini’s distribution, as well. The app has 650 million monthly active users, the company said, up from 350 million in March. By comparison, OpenAI says it has about 700 million weekly users.”
“To add more users, the company will make its Google AI Pro subscription service free to U.S. college students, which will save them about $240 a year. It is the second time that Google has made that offer this year.”
The full piece is worth a read for additional details. Axios also has a good piece summarizing the Gemini 3 launch and why it matters relative to its peers.
The early reactions seem to be mostly positive, but it’s early days. And Google’s senior executives are taking victory laps of sorts on social media and podcasts.
As I laid it out a couple of years ago, Google is more than well positioned to counter the best of the best in LLM AI companies. OpenAI, Anthropic and others are of course also running as hard as they can. But for now, Google, a multi-decade big tech Incumbent, is more than holding its own in this AI Tech Wave. Stay tuned.
(NOTE: The discussions here are for information purposes only, and not meant as investment advice at any time. Thanks for joining us here)
