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Alphabet Unveils Gemini 4 Argon, A New AI Model Geared For Cybersecurity

Google parent Alphabet has launched Gemini 4 Argon, a new artificial intelligence model designed to handle coding, research and writing — but with a particular emphasis on cybersecurity.

A Security-First AI Model

According to Google, Argon was trained specifically for defensive cyber work and is being rolled out only to a select group of partners through the company’s Fairwind Program, its security initiative. Google says the model can “autonomously find, validate, and patch critical software vulnerabilities,” positioning it as a tool aimed at strengthening software defenses rather than simply accelerating general productivity.

Built For Developers And Engineers

Beyond cybersecurity, Google says Argon is also strong in coding and engineering workflows. The company says internal teams are already using the model in day-to-day work, including debugging and codebase migrations. It also highlights Argon’s ability to process visual material, from long-form video to charts, which could make it useful across technical and analytical tasks.

“Built to sustain deep reasoning across complex, long-horizon workflows, Argon is fundamentally changing the way we work and build at Google,” the company said in a blog post.

The Latest Escalation In The AI Race

Argon arrives amid an increasingly aggressive race among top AI labs to release more capable models, even as many of those same companies warn publicly about the risks of advanced AI. OpenAI recently introduced Astra, which it described as its most powerful model yet, while Anthropic earlier this year unveiled Fable with similar ambitions.

That competitive backdrop has also pushed companies to market their models as category leaders. Google says Argon outperformed OpenAI’s GPT-6 Astra and Anthropic’s Fable and Opus models across multiple benchmarks. The company also points to Vals, the AI benchmarking startup, as evidence that Argon currently leads on its AI model index.

Google Narrows The Gap

For years, Google was viewed as trailing rivals in AI. That narrative has shifted sharply in recent months, as Gemini has gained traction. In August, Google said the Gemini app surpassed one billion monthly users, putting it in the same league as OpenAI, which has also said ChatGPT reached one billion monthly users.

For Alphabet, Gemini 4 Argon is more than another model release. It is a signal that Google intends to compete not only on scale and consumer adoption, but on the high-value enterprise frontier where security, software engineering and long-horizon reasoning increasingly define the next phase of the AI market.

LVMH Revenue Rises, But China Weakness Continues To Weigh On Luxury Giant

A Softer Quarter Exposes The Limits Of Luxury’s Recovery

LVMH, the world’s largest luxury group and parent of Louis Vuitton, Dior, Celine and Hennessy, reported revenue of €18.5 billion in the three months to the end of September, underscoring both the scale of its business and the pressure building across parts of the luxury market.

The company’s revenue rose 1.2% year on year in the third quarter, following a 0.1% increase in the second quarter and a 5.9% decline in the first. The trajectory points to stabilization, but not yet to a convincing rebound.

Organic Growth Misses Expectations

Organic sales growth, which strips out currency effects and portfolio changes, slowed to 1% in the third quarter from 3% in the previous quarter. That result fell short of market expectations and reinforced concerns that the luxury cycle remains uneven.

For the first nine months of the year, LVMH generated sales of €57.1 billion, with organic growth of 2%.

In its statement, the company highlighted the breadth of its portfolio, saying that diversification continues to provide resilience in an uncertain geopolitical and economic environment. That remains one of LVMH’s defining strengths: when one category weakens, another can help offset the downturn.

China Remains The Key Pressure Point

LVMH said sales performed well in the United States, Europe and Japan, but conditions in China remained less favorable. That matters because the country has long been one of the most important growth engines for global luxury brands.

The fashion and leather goods division, LVMH’s most closely watched unit, saw organic sales fall 5% as weaker demand in China weighed on performance. Deutsche Bank said the decline was steeper than the roughly 2% drop expected by analysts.

The segment had delivered its first organic sales gain in two years in the previous quarter, making the latest retreat a notable setback.

Brand Equity Faces A Test In China

The quarter also highlighted the reputational risks facing global brands in China. Louis Vuitton drew criticism after suing local tea company Molly Tea over logo copying. Although the company won the case, the dispute sparked social media backlash and boycott calls, adding another layer of pressure to an already fragile environment.

For a company built on scarcity, aspiration and brand discipline, perception is an asset as valuable as inventory. In a market as digitally connected as China, that asset can shift quickly.

Mixed Performance Across The Portfolio

Not every division weakened. LVMH’s selective retailing business, which includes Sephora, posted an 8% organic sales increase. Watches and jewellery, along with wines and spirits, both recorded 6% organic gains.

That broad mix is precisely what has historically given LVMH an advantage over rivals: it can absorb softness in one category without relying on a single growth driver.

Analysts See A Longer Recovery Ahead

Deutsche Bank analysts said the results could lead to further cuts in earnings forecasts for the second half of 2026 and 2027. They added that it is difficult to see what could improve investor sentiment in the near term.

Still, the bank framed the weakness as cyclical rather than structural. In its view, recovery is taking longer because Chinese demand remains subdued, but the problem does not appear to reflect a permanent deterioration in the brand franchise. Analysts said ongoing brand initiatives are beginning to show results, though improvements are likely to remain gradual.

Investor Pressure Continues To Mount

LVMH’s share price has fallen nearly 40% since the start of the year. In September, L’Oréal overtook the group as France’s most valuable listed company, a symbolic shift that captures how sharply sentiment has changed.

Shares in LVMH were down more than 1.6% in Paris around 10 a.m. CEST following the release.

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