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Pichai Says ChatGPT Shock Spurred Google’s ‘Code Red’ and Gemini 3 Gains

The remarks highlight a contest driven by speed, product polish, and public benchmarks.

Overview

  • Sundar Pichai recalled first seeing ChatGPT and thinking the tech would spread faster than Google expected, in a new interview cited by the Times of India.
  • He said reports of a Google “Code Red” and a company scramble set the push that produced Gemini 3, the company’s latest model family.
  • Gemini 3 Pro, released in late 2025, has begun outperforming rivals from OpenAI and Anthropic on several industry benchmarks, according to the report.
  • OpenAI CEO Sam Altman reportedly sent a “Code Red” memo telling staff the vibes would be rough for a bit as Google regained momentum.
  • Pichai described a “full‑stack” strategy that builds the computing backbone, trains the models, and runs them for users, which he said explains Google’s slower public launches.