Google's AI Gemini: Origin of the Name

Gemini first caught the public's eye at Google I/O in 2023, where we briefly revealed that our first natively multimodal model was in training and already showcasing remarkable capabilities. Fast forward a year, and Gemini models have found their way into Search, Ads, Workspace, Pixel, and beyond, marking some of the most significant innovations we unveiled at I/O just yesterday.

As Gemini continues to carve its niche, the question on everyone's mind is: where did the name "Gemini" come from? To unravel this mystery, we turned to the Google DeepMind team for the story behind the moniker.

The story behind the name

Initially, the project was dubbed "Titan," inspired by Saturn's largest moon. Jeff Dean, co-technical lead of Gemini, wasn't thrilled with the name, but it sparked an idea rooted in space.

"Gemini" is Latin for "twins," and in the sky, it's a constellation linked to the Greek mythological twins, Castor and Pollux, after whom its two brightest stars are named. The name holds a dual significance for our AI model.

Firstly, the Gemini zodiac sign is known for its dual nature, adaptability, and ability to connect with diverse groups—qualities that resonated with what was happening at Google at the time.

For almost a decade, DeepMind and Google Research's Brain team were at the forefront of AI breakthroughs, including large-scale deep learning, deep reinforcement learning, AlphaGo, and the Transformer architecture, which underpins most large language models (LLMs) today. In April 2023, these teams merged to form Google DeepMind, uniting their AI expertise, computing power, and resources.

Their first mission? To develop a series of powerful, multimodal AI models.

"The Gemini effort was born from our desire to bring our language modeling teams closer together," Jeff explains. "The 'twins' aspect of 'Gemini' felt perfect, symbolizing the collaboration between the legacy Brain and DeepMind teams on this ambitious project."

The name also draws inspiration from NASA's Project Gemini, an early moonshot program from 1965 to 1968.

Project Gemini served as a crucial link between the Mercury missions, which proved humans could survive in space, and the Apollo missions, which landed the first person on the moon. Named for its two-person spacecraft (powered by a Titan rocket, interestingly enough), Project Gemini tested equipment and techniques for prolonged space stays, achieving milestones like the first U.S. spacewalk and the first spacecraft docking in Earth's orbit.

The significance of Project Gemini to the Apollo program struck a chord with the team. Jeff suggested "Gemini" in a document they were working on, and it resonated. "The monumental effort of training LLMs reminded me of launching rockets," says Oriol Vinyals, co-technical lead of Gemini. "Naming our most ambitious project Gemini felt incredibly fitting."

One giant leap for AI models

AI holds the potential to address some of the world's most pressing challenges, much like the moon landing did for humanity. Our Gemini models represent a significant step forward, guiding us toward those stars safely and responsibly. "Now, the question is, will there be a follow-up to Gemini named Apollo?" Oriol muses with a grin.

Whatever the future holds, Google's Gemini era is just beginning. We started with Gemini 1.0 in December, available in three sizes—Ultra, Pro, and Nano. A few months later, we introduced 1.5 Pro, and yesterday, we unveiled the new 1.5 model, Flash. "We also discussed naming models after stars, given their varying sizes like our models," Oriol notes. "It's clear we're captivated by the universe in Gemini!"

Since its launch, Gemini has reached billions of people through Google products, and hundreds of thousands of developers and businesses have been building with the Gemini API.

"Gemini was born as a research program to create the world's most capable models," Oriol says. "By using it as the product name too, we hope our users will feel the continuous improvement, creativity, and innovation our research teams bring directly to them."

We're not astrologers, but Gemini's future certainly looks bright.

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