Google Gemini 2.5 Is the Newest Model Set to Compete With DeepSeek R1

Gemini 2.5 is a new AI reasoning model that’s set to compete with DeepSeek R1 and is currently the highest-rated AI model overall on LmanaGoogle said in a blog post on Tuesday.

Google describes the new line of Gemini 2.5 models as “thinking models,” ones that recursively analyze their answers before giving people a final output. Per benchmarks on LMArena, Gemini 2.5 is leading in reasoning, science, math and agentic coding. It’s not winning in all tests, however. For example, OpenAI o3-mini still leads it in LiveCodeBench v5.

Gemini 2.5 is rolling out to paid Advanced users now. Some users on Reddit are reporting that they needed to delete and reinstall the Gemini app for 2.5 to show up. On desktop, Gemini 2.5 can be found on Google to study.

One advantage that Google’s AI models have over the competition is the high token rate — the ability to understand or produce complex sets of data. Google has always touted Gemini as the AI that can handle large context windows with high token output. On X, the social media platform formerly known as Twitter, people are also experimenting with Gemini 2.5’s capabilities. Fei Xia, who’s a staff researcher at Google DeepMind, was able to take a crude drawing of a three-tier cake and convert it into a 3D print file.

Google published a video showing Gemini 2.5 making a simple endless runner video game in seconds. Another person on X made a simple flight simulation video game.

Google didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The launch of Gemini 2.5 is the latest weapon thrown into the AI gladiator ring. The launch of DeepSeek R1 earlier this year from China put American AI companies on notice. DeepSeek released a free and open-source reasoning model that was more efficient than what was available from OpenAI.

Google’s also betting big on AI. The generative technology has infiltrated pretty much everything in the company’s product portfolio, from Search to Docs. Google plans to invest $75 billion in AI development in 2025 alone. Considering the AI market is projected to grow to $1.8 trillion by 2030, according to Grand View ResearchGoogle has a strong financial incentive to dominate the space.

In addition to Gemini 2.5, Google also introduced Gemini 2.0 Flash Thinking earlier this year, which aims to be a speedier reasoning model. Last month, Google released Gemini Code Assista free AI coding tool with generous input token support.