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Chinese AI startup MiniMax is launching low-cost open source models that rival the best chatbots
Chinese Artificial Intelligence (AI) Startup MiniMax has launched a new series of open source prototypes, intensifying competition among mainland tech companies to deliver cost-effective AI systems that can compete with the best offerings from US rivals.
The Shanghai-based company on Tuesday unveiled the MiniMax-01 Large Language Model (LLM) family, which includes a general-purpose foundational model, the MiniMax-Text-01, and a multimedia MiniMax-VL-01 with visual capabilities. LLMs are the technology that powers text generation AI products such as ChatGPT.
In benchmark tests posted by MiniMax on its official WeChat account, the new foundational language model was found to be on par with the world’s leading AI models on assessments that included mathematical problem solving, domain knowledge, ability to follow instructions, and avoiding hallucinations or factual errors.
The launch of its industry-leading AI system, MiniMax, comes just weeks after Hangzhou-based rival DeepSeek took the global technology community by storm with its product. The V3 model was open sourced in December. Increasing competition in the country’s crowded and rapidly evolving AI market has sent tech giants and startups alike scrambling to outdo each other every few months with new releases.
Hong Kong included Sense Time It also unveiled a new “large unified model” on Tuesday. The model combines text and image understanding and logical reasoning abilities. Benchmark tests conducted by SuperCLUE, a Chinese model evaluation company, ranked the new SenseTime product as a top contender among multimedia models.
