Zhipu AI Plans 30-Billion-Parameter Model Release in 2025

Chinese AI firm Zhipu AI, known for its GLM series of large language models, is set to release a 30-billion-parameter model in 2025. This move signals the company's strategic expansion into offering more accessible, smaller models alongside its larger, more complex offerings. The announcement comes as Chinese AI companies intensify efforts to gain market share in the rapidly evolving global artificial intelligence landscape.

Zixuan Li, Director of Product and genAI Strategy at Z.ai (Zhipu AI), confirmed the upcoming release, stating, "For our next generation, we are going to launch 4.6 Air. I don’t know whether it will be called Mini, but it is a 30-billion-parameter model. It becomes a lot smaller in a couple of weeks. That’s all for 2025." This new model is expected to be part of the GLM-4.6 series, aiming to provide a balance of performance and efficiency.

The company's current flagship, GLM-4.5, operates with a total of 355 billion parameters, utilizing a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) architecture where only 32 billion parameters are actively engaged for each task. This allows for high performance while maintaining efficiency. The introduction of a dedicated 30-billion-parameter model suggests a focus on optimizing for specific use cases and hardware constraints, potentially catering to a broader developer and enterprise audience seeking more manageable model sizes.

Zhipu AI's strategy reflects a broader trend among Chinese AI developers to diversify their model portfolios. By offering smaller, yet capable, models, companies aim to enhance accessibility and foster wider adoption, particularly for local deployment and specialized applications. This approach is crucial for capturing market segments that may not require the immense computational resources of larger models.

The competitive environment within the Chinese AI sector remains dynamic, with companies like Zhipu AI continuously innovating to differentiate themselves. The emphasis on open-sourcing models and providing flexible solutions underscores a commitment to both research contributions and commercial viability. This upcoming 30-billion-parameter model release is a key step in Zhipu AI's ongoing efforts to solidify its position in the global AI market.