OpenAI’s Secret ‘Garlic’ AI Model: Beating Google Gemini 3 and Anthropic in 2026

OpenAI Strikes Back with ‘Garlic’ AI Model

OpenAI is racing ahead with a powerful new large language model called ‘Garlic’, designed to outshine Google’s Gemini 3 and Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.5 in key areas like coding and advanced reasoning. Chief Research Officer Mark Chen shared promising internal test results with team members, highlighting Garlic’s edge in these benchmarks as the company pushes for an early 2026 launch, possibly as GPT-5.2 or GPT-5.5. This move comes amid fierce competition, signaling OpenAI’s commitment to reclaiming its AI leadership.

Why Garlic Matters in the AI Arms Race

Superior Performance in Coding and Reasoning

Garlic excels where rivals currently lead:

Coding tasks: Internal evaluations show it surpassing Gemini 3 and Opus 4.5, enabling more reliable code generation for developers.
Reasoning capabilities: The model handles complex problem-solving better, building on OpenAI’s o1 series for smarter, step-by-step logic.
Efficiency gains: Breakthroughs in pretraining allow smaller models to pack the knowledge of larger ones, cutting costs and speeding deployment.

These advancements stem from fixes to earlier models like Shallotpeat, focusing on broader data connections before specialization.

Competitive Pressure from Google and Anthropic

Google’s Gemini 3, launched November 18, 2025, dominated leaderboards in text, images, and multimodal tasks, boasting 650 million monthly users. Anthropic’s Claude Opus 4.5 followed on November 24, excelling in autonomous agents. OpenAI’s response includes a ‘code red’ from CEO Sam Altman on December 1, prioritizing ChatGPT upgrades in speed, reliability, and personalization over other projects like ads.

A new reasoning model, ahead of Gemini 3 per tests, launches next week, with Garlic fast-tracked next.

Mark Chen’s Leadership and OpenAI’s Challenges

Elevated to Chief Research Officer in March 2025, Mark Chen has driven hits like DALL-E, Codex, and o1 models. Garlic builds on this, with post-training for safety and specialized fields like biomedicine. Yet, OpenAI faces researcher exodus to Meta and startups, intensifying the talent war. Success here could spark even more advanced successors.

Future Implications for AI Innovation

Garlic represents a shift to efficient, specialized AI, potentially transforming industries from software development to healthcare. As the race heats up, expect faster iterations and bolder capabilities by 2026. Stay tuned for OpenAI’s updates.