Nvidia unveils first open-source AI model since CEO Jensen Huang entered the chat
Nvidia just open-sourced a model. That changes the chip company's entire AI playbook.
Why it matters
Nvidia's first major open-weight drop signals a strategic pivot: from selling closed models and chips to seeding an ecosystem where enterprises standardize on Nvidia-trained weights. Nemotron 3.5 Lightning competes directly with Meta's Llama and Mistral — and could lock users into Nvidia's inference stack.
The key facts
5 to knowNemotron 3.5 Lightning is free and open-weight (no permission, no licensing fees required)
First open-source model release from Nvidia since Jensen Huang became CEO
Model is available for download and commercial use
Positions Nvidia to compete with Meta Llama and Mistral in the open-weight space
Strategic shift from proprietary model strategy to ecosystem seeding
Go to the source
CNBC Technologycnbc.com
Publisher excerpt: Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is free for companies to download, use and modify without getting permission or paying Nvidia.