ByteDance Launches Open-Source AI to Rival DeepSeek and Alibaba
â–Ľ Summary
– ByteDance has released Seed-OSS-36B, an AI model designed for general-purpose and reasoning tasks with long-context processing and developer-friendly features.
– The model has 36 billion parameters, which is modest compared to other Chinese open-source models that are dozens of times larger.
– According to benchmark tests, Seed-OSS-36B matches or exceeds the capabilities of similar-sized models from competitors like Alibaba Cloud, Google, and OpenAI, as well as ByteDance’s own Seed 1.6.
– The Seed department at ByteDance is responsible for the company’s AI research and large language model development.
– This release demonstrates how Chinese AI companies are narrowing the gap with US peers by using an open-source approach that allows third-party use and modification.
ByteDance has introduced Seed-OSS-36B, a new open-source artificial intelligence model engineered to compete with offerings from industry leaders like Alibaba and DeepSeek. Designed for both general-purpose applications and advanced reasoning tasks, the model supports long-context processing and incorporates a suite of developer-friendly tools. This release underscores the growing momentum of open-source AI development in China as companies strive to keep pace with global competitors.
With 36 billion parameters, Seed-OSS-36B is notably more compact than many rival models yet delivers competitive performance. Parameters function as internal variables that help the system learn and improve during training. While other Chinese firms have released models with significantly larger parameter counts, ByteDance emphasizes that its offering holds its own in capability and efficiency.
Recent benchmark tests indicate that Seed-OSS-36B performs on par with or even exceeds similarly sized models from major players such as Alibaba Cloud, Google, and OpenAI. It also represents a marked improvement over ByteDance’s earlier Seed 1.6 model. Alibaba Cloud, a subsidiary of Alibaba Group Holding, remains a key competitor in the AI and cloud computing arena.
The Seed division at ByteDance is responsible for the company’s artificial intelligence research and large language model development. By adopting an open-source strategy, Chinese tech firms are accelerating innovation and narrowing the technological divide with U.S. counterparts. This approach allows third-party developers to freely use, modify, and distribute the underlying source code, fostering broader collaboration and rapid iteration within the global AI community.
(Source: SCMP)
