Alphabet (GOOGL) shares fell 4.5% on Thursday. Reports indicate a multi-month delay for the flagship Gemini 3.5 Pro AI model. The stock opened near $373 on Thursday. Shares closed the session at approximately $354. This decline wiped out roughly $200 billion in market value. Selling pressure continued into Friday.
The delay reportedly stems from the model's poor performance in software coding. Internal tests in late June failed to meet benchmarks despite updated training data. This setback trails advancements from competitors like OpenAI and Anthropic.
Internal frustration is growing as the company risks losing ground in the AI race. A Google spokesperson confirmed the model is currently undergoing partner testing. The company has not provided a revised public launch timeline.