Inception emerges from stealth with a new type of AI model

image via TechCrunch

February 26, 2025, 7:00 PM

• •Inception, a new Palo Alto-based company, has developed a novel AI model based on “diffusion” technology.
• •Inception’s model offers the capabilities of traditional LLMs, including code generation and question-answering, but with significantly faster performance and reduced computing costs.
• •The company claims its DLMs can run up to 10x faster than traditional LLMs while costing 10x less.

Inception, a new Palo Alto-based company started by Stanford computer science professor Stefano Ermon, claims to have developed a novel AI model based on “diffusion” technology. Inception calls it a diffusion-based large language model, or a “DLM” for short. The generative AI models receiving the most attention now can be broadly divided into two types: large language models (LLMs) and diffusion models. LLMs, built on the transformer architecture, are used for text generation. Meanwhile, diffusion models, which power AI systems like Midjourney and OpenAI’s Sora, are mainly used to create images, video, and audio. Inception’s model offers the capabilities of traditional LLMs, including code generation and question-answering, but with significantly faster performance and reduced computing costs, according to the company.

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