How far behind are open models? (17 minute read)

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Summary

An analysis from LessWrong examining the performance gap between open-source and proprietary AI models.

Open models are generally not as capable as the best closed models. However, they aren't too far behind, with tests showing that they are only four to six months behind on public benchmarks. The gap was the smallest around the time of DeepSeek R1. It has since been growing.
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Cached at: 05/29/26, 06:31 PM

# How far behind are open models? — LessWrong Source: [https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rJcCrXyEsJKmmDpWG/how-far-behind-are-open-models](https://www.lesswrong.com/posts/rJcCrXyEsJKmmDpWG/how-far-behind-are-open-models) x How far behind are open models? — LessWrong

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