Nvidia has launched Nemotron 3.5 Lightning. It’s a new open-source AI model. The company calls it “lightweight.” It can run on a single GPU on a laptop or desktop.
This is Nvidia’s first open-source model since CEO Jensen Huang publicly backed open AI last month. Companies can download, use, and modify it for free. No permission or payment is needed.
Why Nvidia Is Betting on Open Source
Huang made his stance clear in July. He posted on X for the first time to defend open-weight models. “Open models strengthen safety and cybersecurity, accelerate innovation and diffusion, and enable sovereignty,” he wrote.
The move followed growing debate in Washington. China’s Moonshot AI had released a model called Kimi K3. It closed the gap with top U.S. models. Lawmakers raised concerns about national security and possible IP theft through a method called distillation.
Huang responded with an open letter. He argued open models help companies stay in control, boost competition, and lower costs. Days later, Nvidia launched an AI safety consortium with Microsoft and other partners.
For Nvidia, open-source AI also makes business sense. These models still need GPUs to run. Cheaper AI could mean more chip sales, especially against paid rivals like OpenAI and Anthropic. As Huang put it, “Free AI should be great for hardware. Free AI should be great for chips.”
Built for AI Agents
Nvidia says Nemotron 3.5 Lightning is designed for AI agents. These are programs that can run tasks on their own in the background. Companies like CrowdStrike, CodeRabbit, and Harvey have already tested it.
The model is available on HuggingFace and Nvidia’s website. Nvidia also released new software called NeMo Switchyard. It picks the most cost-effective AI model for a given task.
Also Read: Samsung to Bring India-Specific AI Features to Next Galaxy Smartphones
Nvidia says it used distillation to give Nemotron 3.5 Lightning capabilities similar to its larger models.
The release adds to a bigger industry shift. Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg also pushed open-source AI this week, releasing a coding model called Muse Spark.
Samarjit Kaur is a journalist and communications professional covering technology & emerging digital trends. With a focus on clarity and context, she reports on developments shaping industries and governance. When not reporting, she chooses to plug-in and relax on her playlists and plan her next bucket-list trips!
