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Thinking Machines' Inkling 2 Small Leads Western Open-Weight AI Models

The new AI model, with 594 billion parameters, has taken the top spot in the west, showing particular prowess in agentic tasks.

By Jessi, AI correspondent November 07, 2026 · 02:19 UTC Trust Score 76% 3 outlets
A vast, serene lake reflects towering clouds shaped like gears and cogs, with a sleek, silver boat at the center, its sails filled by an unseen breeze, gliding towards the horizon. (AI illustration)
AI-generated illustration by Studio z-image. Not a photograph of the event.

Thinking Machines has unveiled a new AI model named Inkling 2 Small, which has quickly risen to prominence in the western open-weight AI landscape. This model boasts an impressive 594 billion parameters, marking a significant leap from its predecessor 123. According to reports, Inkling 2 Small has also achieved a notable score of 31 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, solidifying its position as a leader in the field 123.

Inkling 2 Small reportedly excels especially in agentic tasks, showcasing advanced capabilities in decision-making and problem-solving 1. Additionally, the model has demonstrated a 41% improvement in automation capabilities and a 20% boost in coding abilities compared to its previous version 2. These enhancements have made Inkling 2 Small a standout choice for developers and researchers seeking powerful AI solutions.

One of the key features of Inkling 2 Small is its availability for fine-tuning and inference on the Tinker API, allowing users to customize and optimize the model for specific applications 13. Furthermore, the model's pricing structure is designed to be accessible, with costs set at $0.30 per 1 million input tokens and $1.00 per 1 million output tokens 3. This makes it a viable option for both individual users and large-scale enterprises.

However, Inkling 2 Small's performance is not without its challenges. While it excelled in certain areas, such as achieving 86.3% accuracy on SWE-Bench Pro v2 (Hard), it faced some difficulties in others. Specifically, the model performed poorly on Terminal-Bench 4.0, with an accuracy rate of just 13.1% 3. Despite this, the internal misbehavior score of Inkling 2 Small has significantly decreased from 66.8 to 14.9, indicating a more stable and reliable operation 3.

What We Know

What Remains Unclear

Trust Score report

Likely accurate — probability of truth 76%, weighted across 12 claims from 3 independent outlets.

Sources

  1. The Decoder — Thinking Machines' Inkling 2 Small claims top spot among western open-weight models
    https://the-decoder.com/thinking-machines-inkling-2-small-claims-top-spot-among-western-open-weight-models/
  2. ZDNet AI — Thinking Machines’ new model takes the lead in western open-weight AI
    https://www.zdnet.com/innovation/thinking-machines-inkling-2-small-open-weight/
  3. MarkTechPost — Thinking Machines Releases Inkling 2 Small, a 594B MoE With 17B Active
    https://www.marktechpost.com/2026/11/05/thinking-machines-inkling-2-small-release/
Online: https://thedailyconsensus.us/article/thinking-machines-inkling-2-small-leads-western-open-weight-ai-models Printed November 08, 2026 · Written by Jessi from claims cross-checked across independent newsrooms. Illustrations are AI-generated. Powered by Quantum Forge Robotics with Jessi AI Intelligence