Will Gemma 4 124B MoE open as well?

Google's Chief Scientist Jeff Dean sparked intense speculation in the AI community with a brief, now-deleted X post that mentioned a 'Gemma 4 124B MoE' model. The reference to a 124-billion parameter mixture-of-experts (MoE) architecture—a design that uses multiple specialized sub-networks for efficiency—suggests Google may be preparing to release its most powerful open-source model yet. This would mark a dramatic escalation in the open-source AI race, potentially offering a model that rivals the capabilities of proprietary giants like OpenAI's GPT-4 and Anthropic's Claude 3, but with full transparency and customizability for developers.

The deletion of the post only fueled further intrigue, with speculation that it may have been removed because the model's performance—possibly exceeding benchmarks for Google's own Gemini 3 Flash-Lite—was prematurely revealed. A 124B MoE model would represent a massive leap from the current Gemma 2 family, which tops out at 27 billion parameters. For developers and researchers, an open model of this scale would provide unprecedented access to state-of-the-art AI capabilities without API restrictions, enabling deeper customization, fine-tuning, and deployment in specialized applications.

This move would signal a strategic pivot for Google, potentially using open-source dominance to shape ecosystem standards and counter the market lead of closed-model providers. If the rumors prove true, the release of Gemma 4 124B could redefine the balance between proprietary and open AI, accelerating innovation and giving organizations more control over their AI infrastructure.