Two years ago, if you wanted a truly high-performing AI model, you paid. There was no other option. In 2026, things have changed completely. Open source models – that is, the ones anyone can download, use and modify for free – now compete seriously with the most expensive products on the market. At Altanet Craiova we consider this one of the most important changes in the AI world this year.
What Exactly Is an Open Source Model?
Think of the difference between Windows and Linux. You buy Windows or get it with your laptop, its code is secret and you cannot modify it. Linux is free, the code is public, and anyone can adapt it to their needs.
In the AI world, the same principle applies:
- Closed models (GPT-5, Gemini): you access them over the internet, you pay per use, you do not know exactly how they work inside, and your data passes through the company's servers.
- Open source models (DeepSeek, Llama, Qwen): you download them and install them wherever you want – on your own server, on a laptop, even on a phone – and nobody else sees what you ask of them.
Who Are the Main Players in 2026?
The list of competitive open source models has grown spectacularly. Here are the most important ones:
- DeepSeek-V3.2 (China): scores 99.2% on advanced mathematics tests and rivals GPT-5 directly across several categories of problems.
- Llama (Meta): the most popular open source model in the world, used by millions of developers and companies.
- Qwen3 (Alibaba): exceptional performance in Asian languages, but also in English and other European languages.
- Granite (IBM): optimised for the enterprise environment, with an emphasis on security and compliance.
- gpt-oss (OpenAI): the surprise of the year – OpenAI itself released, in August 2025, its first open source model since GPT-2, with 120 billion and 20 billion parameters, under the Apache 2.0 licence.
- Zhipu GLM-5 (China): 744 billion parameters in an MoE architecture, MIT-licensed, ranked first on code-writing tests (SWE-bench).
The chart below shows how close free models are to paid ones – in both performance and cost:
$0.27
$0 (local installation)
Open source (free)
Subscription models
What Do "Parameters" Mean in Simple Terms?
Parameters are, in short, the model's "accumulated experience". The more there are, the more the model has learned. A model with 700 billion parameters has "read" and "digested" a huge amount of information. A large number does not always guarantee quality, but it gives an idea of the model's complexity.
Why Does This Matter for Your Business?
There are three practical reasons why open source AI is relevant even for a small or medium-sized company:
- Zero cost for the model: You do not pay for a licence or subscription. You only pay for the server you install it on – or nothing at all if you install it on a computer you already have.
- 100% private data: If you process contracts, medical data or confidential customer information, a locally installed model means that data never leaves your company.
- Complete customisation: You can "train" the model on your specific documents and processes, so that it answers exactly in the style and with the knowledge of your company.
Where Is the Limit?
Open source does not automatically mean simple. Installing and configuring an AI model on your own server requires technical knowledge. Very large models need powerful hardware. And, unlike paid services, you do not have a "customer support" button to call when something goes wrong.
Anthony Annunziata of IBM sums up the situation well: "We will see smaller models, capable of reasoning, that are easy to adapt to specific domains." In other words, the future is not a single giant model that does everything, but small, specialised models that do one thing very well.
What's Next?
Estimates show that by 2027, over 60% of the AI used in companies will be based on specialised open source models. The value will no longer lie in the model itself, but in how you adapt it, secure it and integrate it into your processes.
If you want to know whether an open source model suits your company's needs – and what equipment you need to install it – the Altanet Craiova team can give you a concrete assessment. Go to our contact page and let's talk.
This article is part of the Altanet series on AI trends in 2026. Next article: Reasoning Models: How AI Learned to Think Before It Speaks. See also the complete guide to the series.