‘Stakes are high’: Google CEO Sundar Pichai says 2025 will be a defining year for the company

Google's biggest focus in 2025 will be on its AI app Gemini, with a target of reaching 500 million users

Google's CEO Sundar Pichai said that the company will see 2025 as a defining year due to the rapid evolution of artificial intelligence (AI) in a strategy meeting held in California on December 18, CNBC reported.

Google CEO Sundar Pichai testifies during a House Judiciary Committee hearing on Capitol Hill. (Saul Loeb/AFP)

He urged the employees to "internalise the urgency of this moment" and to "move faster as a company," since "the stakes are high."

“These are disruptive moments,” the report quoted Pichai as having said. "In 2025, we need to be relentlessly focused on unlocking the benefits of this technology and solving real user problems."

This comes at a time when Google is focusing on its ambitious AI push with the Gemini app, which gives users a range of tools.

"Scaling Gemini on the consumer side will be our biggest focus next year," he said. The target is 500 million users.

"With the Gemini app, there is strong momentum, particularly over the last few months. But we have some work to do in 2025 to close the gap and establish a leadership position there as well," he said.

In August, the federal judge ruled that Google illegally maintains a monopoly in the search market.

“It's not lost on me that we are facing scrutiny across the world," the report quoted him as saying. "It comes with our size and success. It's part of a broader trend where tech is now impacting society at scale. So more than ever, through this moment, we have to make sure we don't get distracted.”

Despite intense competition, Pichai noted that being "first" is not always necessary for success. "In history, you don't always need to be first but you have to execute well and really be the best in class as a product," he said. “I think that's what 2025 is all about.”