A startup founded by former OpenAI executives has launched Inkling, an open-source multimodal artificial intelligence model with 975 billion parameters, capable of processing audio, video, and text.
A startup founded by former OpenAI executives has launched Inkling, an open-source multimodal artificial intelligence model that directly competes with closed systems like GPT-4. The model, with 975 billion parameters, can process audio, video, and text, and is available for any company or researcher to download and modify.
An open model that democratizes AI
Inkling has been trained from scratch to interpret multiple input formats, offering a versatile solution for business applications. Although it does not lead the rankings in all tests, it excels in advanced reasoning and coding. Its availability as open source allows startups and SMEs to adapt it to their needs without relying on a single provider.
The startup was founded in February 2025 by Mira Murati (former CTO and interim CEO of OpenAI), John Schulman (co-founder of ChatGPT), and Lilian Weng (former vice president of safety). Since then, it has raised funding to reach a valuation of 12 billion dollars.
Performance and competitive advantages
In standardized tests, Inkling shows satisfactory performance across multiple tasks. Its self-tuning capability allows it to improve itself, a growing trend in AI. Additionally, its open nature reduces operational costs compared to closed systems that require subscriptions, providing relief for companies with tight budgets.
During development, researchers observed that the model initially lacked explanations in natural language for its reasoning. However, they reintegrated this functionality to enhance explainability, which is key in business environments where transparency is critical.
Impact on the enterprise AI market
The launch of Inkling reflects a fragmentation of the AI market, where the advantage no longer solely depends on funding scale, but on architecture, accessibility, and specialization. While OpenAI pioneered with ChatGPT, startups like Anthropic (with its Claude model) are also gaining ground. Anthropic has recently applied to go public with a potential valuation exceeding one trillion dollars.
For Spanish companies, the arrival of Inkling represents an opportunity: they will be able to implement multimodal AI without relying on tech giants or paying high licensing fees. The model requires specialized chip clusters for execution, but its open-source nature allows technical teams to adapt it to specific tasks, from customer service to video analysis.
The startup aims to decentralize AI, allowing more organizations to develop models with their own data. This philosophy contrasts with the approach of large corporations, which keep their systems closed. In a context where investment in AI is skyrocketing, the open-source option is gaining followers due to its flexibility and lower long-term cost.
The coming months will be crucial to see if Inkling gains market share among SMEs and freelancers seeking affordable AI solutions. The startup has already announced that it will publish regular updates of the model, and the open-source community is expected to contribute to its improvement. For those who want to try it, the model is already available for download in the company's official repository.
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