Z.ai Unveils GLM-4.5 AI Models: The New Benchmark in Open-Source Agentic Intelligence

China’s Z.ai has just shaken the AI world with the official launch of GLM-4.5 AI and GLM-4.5-Air, two open-source models designed to redefine what’s possible in agentic artificial intelligence. With a bold claim of topping every open-source language model globally, GLM-4.5 positions itself as a serious contender in the race behind OpenAI’s o3 and xAI’s Grok 4.

GLM-4.5 AI: A Giant Leap for Open-Source AI

GLM-4.5 AI marks a significant leap in the world of large language models. According to Z.ai, this model features 355 billion total parameters with 32 billion active, setting a new bar for scale and performance. The GLM-4.5-Air variant is a lightweight version with 106 billion total and 12 billion active parameters, aimed at delivering high performance with efficiency. These models are designed to unify reasoning, coding, and agentic capabilities under one architecture.

What sets GLM-4.5 apart is its dual operating modes: a thinking mode for deep reasoning and a non-thinking mode for fast, responsive interactions. This flexibility gives developers and enterprises more control depending on their application needs.

Inside the Architecture: Mixture-of-Experts Meets Depth

Z.ai has chosen a mixture-of-experts (MoE) architecture but diverges from the common trend of widening layers. Instead, GLM-4.5 models go deeper, increasing the number of layers while maintaining a manageable width. This design is believed to enhance the models’ reasoning abilities — a core focus of this release. The context window is an impressive 128,000 tokens, enabling broader comprehension and interaction.

Additionally, the models offer native function calling, streamlining integration into real-world workflows and automation pipelines.

Outperforming Competitors: Where GLM-4.5 Stands

In internal tests across 12 performance benchmarks—covering agentic tasks, coding, and complex reasoning—GLM-4.5 reportedly outranked all open-source peers. Only OpenAI’s o3 and xAI’s Grok 4 were ahead. This strong showing suggests Z.ai’s approach is not just theoretical but competitive in real-world applications as well.

The models are now available under a permissive open-source license on GitHub and Hugging Face, with APIs accessible via Z.ai’s official website. This positions GLM-4.5 as a practical, scalable solution for both academic researchers and commercial enterprises.

What This Means for Developers and the AI Community

By releasing such a powerful model with open weights, Z.ai empowers global developers to build advanced AI applications without the barriers of proprietary restrictions. The hybrid modes and scalable architecture make GLM-4.5 ideal for use cases ranging from chatbots and code generation to agentic task execution.

This release also marks a strategic move by Z.ai to counterbalance Western dominance in generative AI. While OpenAI, Google, and Anthropic have made strides, GLM-4.5 proves that innovation is rapidly globalizing—and China is emerging as a leader in open AI development.

How to Access GLM-4.5 AI Models

You can explore the open weights and experiment with the models directly through Z.ai’s GitHub, Hugging Face, and official website. The permissive licensing allows for both academic and commercial use, opening doors to rapid prototyping and deployment.

GLM-4.5 AI is not just another model—it’s a potential inflection point in how open-source AI can rival proprietary giants.

You Must Know:

• What is GLM-4.5 AI?
  GLM-4.5 AI is a new open-source language model developed by Z.ai, combining reasoning, coding, and agentic abilities in a single framework.

• How powerful is GLM-4.5?
  It features 355 billion parameters with 32 billion active, making it one of the largest and most capable open models currently available.

• Where can I access GLM-4.5?
  You can download the models from Z.ai’s GitHub or Hugging Face listings, or interact via its official API.

• How does GLM-4.5 compare to ChatGPT?
  While ChatGPT remains a proprietary model, GLM-4.5 is open-source and claims better reasoning performance than most open models.

• Who can use GLM-4.5?
  Anyone—from researchers to businesses—can use GLM-4.5 under a permissive license, allowing for academic and commercial applications.

GLM-4.5 AI redefines what’s achievable in open-source AI, setting a new global benchmark.