Most new AI products don't say how big they are
In 2021, 92% of the notable AI models in Epoch AI's database had a known parameter count. In 2026 so far, 41% do. Open-weight models still publish their size. Models sold through an app or API rarely do, and those products are now most of what gets released: 59 of 95 notable models this year.
Share of notable AI models with a known parameter count
All notable models released each year. 2026 covers January to October.
The same share, by how the model was released
A line starts once a release type has at least 10 models in a year.
- Open weights
- Not released
- Sold as a product (app or API)
Products went from a few notable releases to most of them
Notable models by release type.
- Open weights
- Not released
- Sold as a product
9 of 79 notable models in 2021 were sold as products. In 2026, 59 of 95 are. *January to October.
How to read it
Parameter count is the simplest public measure of a model's size. A model counts as known when Epoch AI's database has a figure for it, whether the developer published it or Epoch estimated it from other sources. Switch the measure to see the same pattern for training compute, the total computing power used to train the model.
- It shows what the public record contains, not what developers know internally.
- Epoch keeps adding figures after a model comes out, so the latest year may rise as estimates arrive.
- "Notable" follows Epoch's own criteria, such as state-of-the-art results, wide use or historical importance.
- "Sold as a product" groups Epoch's API, hosted and limited access categories. Open weights includes restricted and non-commercial licenses.
Show the numbers as a table
Source: Epoch AI, Data on AI Models (notable models), downloaded 5 November 2026, used under CC BY. Latest model in the data: October 28, 2026.
Why it matters
What a project leaves out of its public record is a signal too. The desk reads crypto and AI projects the way a skeptic does, and a model sold with no stated size asks its users to trust what they can't check. Open-weight releases show the same field can publish the number.