Google has released Gemini 4 Carbon to the general public after releasing it to a select group of cybersecurity defenders two weeks ago. The company claims Carbon “pushes the frontier even further” than its last release, Argon, and its introductory price is around a fifth of OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra’s and a quarter of Anthropic’s Fable 5.2’s.
Gemini 4 Carbon is rolling out today via the Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Gemini for business for all paying developers and enterprises, Google said in a blog post. It will also be available to Google AI Ultra subscribers in the Gemini app, the AI Mode in Search, and on Antigravity. It is not clear when, or if, Carbon will be available to lower tier subscribers or free users.
Google says Carbon is “built for tasks that test the limits of a model’s intelligence,” such as complex, multi-step coding and open-ended scientific research. Meanwhile, Argon will likely remain “the ideal choice for the majority of software engineering and knowledge work,” the company said.
To highlight Carbon’s utility for long-horizon work involving AI agents, Google said it is also previewing a “swarm” feature on its agentic development platform Antigravity, which will let users turn a single prompt “into a coordinated team of agents.”
As with the launch of Argon, Google is pricing Carbon very competitively. The model is launching with an introductory price of $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens, around a fifth the cost of OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra and a quarter the cost of Anthropic’s Fable 5.2 model, which launched yesterday. Even after those costs double at the end of November, Carbon will still be significantly cheaper than frontier rivals on a per-token basis, though this does not necessarily translate to lower costs as models can use different numbers of tokens for the same tasks.
Benchmarks cited by Google when it first announced Carbon suggest the model is one of the most powerful on the market across most metrics, behind Fable 5.2. It should be noted that companies can and do cherry-pick benchmark results to show their tools in the best possible light.
The release, hot on the heels of Argon, marks a decisive return for Google at the very forefront of AI research. For months, frontier development looked like a two-horse race between Anthropic and OpenAI.
Analysis
Why This Matters
- Google’s aggressive pricing and rapid release of a second frontier model in two months signals a price war in the AI market, potentially lowering costs for developers and enterprises.
- The new 'swarm' feature on Antigravity could change how AI agents are deployed, enabling more complex, multi-step tasks.
- Google’s re-emergence as a top-tier competitor challenges the dominance of Anthropic and OpenAI, accelerating the pace of AI innovation.
Background
Google has been competing closely with Anthropic and OpenAI in the frontier AI space. Last month it released Argon, one of its most advanced models. Now with Gemini 4 Carbon, Google claims to have surpassed Argon’s capabilities for specific complex tasks. The company has been aggressively pricing its models to gain market share.
Key Perspectives
- Google: says Carbon is its “strongest model yet” and “pushes the frontier even further” than Argon. It is “built for tasks that test the limits of a model’s intelligence” such as complex coding and scientific research. The company also says Argon will likely remain “the ideal choice for the majority of software engineering and knowledge work.”
- Industry context (The Verge): notes that benchmark results, which suggest Carbon is behind Fable 5.2 on most metrics, should be treated with caution as companies can cherry-pick results. The release marks Google’s return to the “very forefront” of AI research after months of a two-horse race between Anthropic and OpenAI.
What to Watch
- Whether Google makes Carbon available to lower-tier subscribers or free users, which would broaden its reach.
- The actual adoption cost for developers, as per-token pricing may not reflect total cost differences due to varying token usage.
- How Anthropic and OpenAI respond with pricing or features in the coming weeks.
Checked
12 claims in this story checked against 1 source: 12 supported.
Show each claim
- SupportedGoogle touts Gemini 4 Carbon as its “strongest model yet.”The Verge: “Google claims Carbon is its “strongest model” yet”
- SupportedThe new model arrives with a preview of a “swarm” agent feature.The Verge: “Google said it is also previewing a “swarm” feature on its agentic development platform Antigravity”
- SupportedThe new model arrives with competitive pricing.The Verge: “As with the launch of Argon, Google is pricing Carbon very competitively.”
- SupportedGoogle released Carbon to the general public after releasing it to a select group of cybersecurity defenders two weeks earlier.The Verge: “Google is rolling out its latest AI model, Gemini 4 Carbon, to the general public after releasing it to a select group of “cybersecurity defenders” two weeks ago.”
- SupportedGoogle says Carbon “pushes the frontier even further” than Argon.The Verge: “Google says Gemini 4 Carbon “pushes the frontier even further” than Argon”
- SupportedCarbon’s introductory price is $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens.The Verge: “The model is launching with an introductory price of $2 per million input tokens and $10 per million output tokens”
- SupportedCarbon’s introductory price is around a fifth of GPT-6 Astra’s and a quarter of Fable 5.2’s.The Verge: “around a fifth the cost of OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra and a quarter the cost of Anthropic’s Fable 5.2 model”
- SupportedFable 5.2 launched yesterday.The Verge: “Anthropic’s Fable 5.2 model, which launched yesterday.”
- SupportedCarbon’s prices will double at the end of November, but it will still be significantly cheaper than frontier rivals per token.The Verge: “Even after those costs double at the end November — when the introductory period of lower prices finishes — Carbon will still be significantly cheaper than frontier rivals on a per-token basis”
- SupportedCarbon is rolling out today to paying developers and enterprises through the Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Gemini for business, and to Google AI Ultra subscribers through the Gemini app, AI Mode in Search and Antigravity.The Verge: “Carbon is rolling out today via the Gemini API in Google AI Studio and Gemini for business for all paying developers and enterprises, Google said in a blog post. It will also be available to all Google AI Ultra subscribers in the Gemini app, the AI Mode in Search, and on Antigravity.”
- SupportedIt is unclear when, or if, Carbon will be available to lower-tier subscribers or free users.The Verge: “It is not clear when — or if — Carbon will be available to lower tier subscribers or free users.”
- SupportedGoogle-cited benchmarks suggest Carbon is among the most powerful models across most metrics, behind Fable 5.2.The Verge: “Benchmarks cited by Google when it first announced Carbon suggest the model is one of the most powerful on the market across most metrics, behind Fable 5.2.”
