WSJ: Google Set to Ship Coding-First Gemini 3.8 Flash, Codenamed Skimaki
ChuckDBrooks · x · 2026-09-02
Per an anonymously sourced WSJ report, Google is on the verge of shipping Gemini 3.8 Flash (codename "Skimaki"), a coding-focused model that could land as early as Wednesday, with insiders touting "significantly upgraded coding capabilities."
- Not a mega frontier model like OpenAI's unreleased Astra — it follows the Flash playbook of faster and cheaper, riding the 2026 agentic-coding token boom and the rise of aggregators like OpenRouter.
- The report ties the timing to Demis Hassabis stepping aside as DeepMind CEO last month, framing this as DeepMind's pivot to coding akin to OpenAI's March shift.
- Context: the prevailing narrative has Google falling behind in the agent era; this is its push to catch up on coding.
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