Google не отстаёт в AI-гонке: Пичаи ответил скептикам, облако выросло на 82%

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, defended Google's position in the artificial intelligence race at the company's quarterly earnings call on July 22, 2026, and pointed to 82% growth in the cloud business, responding to analysts who asked about the delay of the new Gemini model.

What analysts asked

Analysts on the July 22, 2026 call directly asked Pichai why the release of the next version of Gemini had slipped and whether Google had ceded the cutting edge of development to teams from OpenAI and Anthropic. For Pichai, this is an unusual role: at earnings calls he usually talks about Google's leadership, not defends against claims of falling behind.

For the first time in a long while, Alphabet had to publicly address not its superiority, but the market's doubts that the company is holding the frontier of the AI race. Key facts from the call:

• Date — July 22, 2026, Alphabet's quarterly earnings call
• Google Cloud's business grew 82%
• Analysts' question — the delay in releasing the next Gemini model
• Named competitors at the frontier — OpenAI and Anthropic

How Pichai responded

Pichai rejected the claim of falling behind and insisted that Google still has frontier models. According to him, the company had consistently shipped frontier models despite pressure from competitors.

"We clearly had frontier models…" —

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Alphabet, on the company's earnings call.

Pichai shifted the conversation from promises of future releases to the business that is already working. Instead of naming a date for the new Gemini, he steered analysts toward the financial results as proof that Google's AI strategy is paying off here and now, not in an uncertain future.

What the cloud business showed

Google Cloud grew 82% — Pichai made this figure the main argument against the narrative of falling behind. According to Alphabet's quarterly report, it is the cloud business that the company presents as direct proof that its AI infrastructure is in demand on the market.

The logic is simple: customers pay for cloud capacity to train and run artificial intelligence models, which means demand for Google's technology is real, even if the release of the new Gemini has slipped. 82% growth turns an abstract argument about leadership into measurable revenue — a language investors understand better than promises of future models.

Is Google losing the AI race?

Publicly, Google denies that it is losing: on July 22, 2026, Pichai directly rejected this claim. But the very fact that analysts are asking about ceding the frontier to OpenAI and Anthropic shows that the market has doubts, and the company needs the 82% cloud growth as a counterargument.

The delay of the flagship Gemini hits perception in particular: a change of the leading model shows who holds the frontier in the AI race. When a release slips, competitors get a window to pull ahead in capabilities and market attention — and Alphabet has to prove leadership not by demonstrating a model, but by its financial results.

What this means

Alphabet is shifting the debate about AI leadership from the realm of model demonstrations to the realm of financial performance: while competitors compete on benchmarks, Google points to its 82% cloud business growth as proof that its AI infrastructure is already making money.

FAQ

How much has Google's cloud business grown?

Google Cloud grew 82% — Pichai cited this figure at Alphabet's quarterly call on July 22, 2026, and made it the central argument in defense of the company's AI strategy.

Why do analysts doubt Google's leadership in AI?

Analysts asked Pichai why the release of the next Gemini model had slipped and whether Google had ceded the frontier to OpenAI and Anthropic. Pichai rejected this claim, citing frontier models and cloud growth.