What is open-source AI?
Open-source AI refers to artificial intelligence systems that can be used, examined, altered and distributed for any purpose, without having to request permission. Under the Open Source Initiative (OSI) definition published in 2024, a fully open system releases three components: the model's weights, the code used to train it, and detailed information about its training data, all under open licenses.
The OSI definition grants four freedoms. Users can run the system for any purpose without asking permission. They can study how it works and inspect its components. They can modify it for any purpose, including changing its output. They can share it with others. The OSI consulted experts over two years to fit the definition to AI software and models.
Where the definition is contested
Data access is the most controversial part of the definition. Some models are trained on sensitive data that cannot be released, so a model can meet the code and weights requirements while its training data stays private.
Hardware for running open-source AI
Open-source models run on local hardware, so processor, memory and storage determine what a system can handle. The table below lists the processor and memory of the Thinvent products on this page.
| Product | Processor | Cores | Max frequency | Cache | RAM | Storage |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Thinvent Industrial PC IPC5 (i5-1240P, 16GB) | Intel Core i5-1240P | 12 | 4.4 GHz | 12 MB | 16 GB | 512 GB SSD |
| Thinvent Industrial PC IPC5 (i5-1240P, 32GB) | Intel Core i5-1240P | 12 | 4.4 GHz | 12 MB | 32 GB | 1 TB SSD |
| Thinvent Industrial PC IPC5 (i7-1255U, 16GB) | Intel Core i7-1255U | 10 | 4.7 GHz | 12 MB | 16 GB | 512 GB SSD |
| Thinvent Industrial PC IPC5 (i7-1255U, 32GB) | Intel Core i7-1255U | 10 | 4.7 GHz | 12 MB | 32 GB | 1 TB SSD |
| Thinvent Industrial PC IPC3 | Intel Core i3-1215U | 6 | 4.4 GHz | 10 MB | 8 GB | 256 GB SSD |
| Thinvent Aero Mini PC (i3-1215U) | Intel Core i3-1215U | 6 | 4.4 GHz | 10 MB | 8 GB | 256 GB SSD |
| Thinvent Aero Mini PC (Core 5 120U) | Intel Core 5 120U | 10 | 5.0 GHz | 12 MB | 16 GB | 512 GB SSD |
| Thinvent Treo Mini PC (Ryzen 5 7430U) | AMD Ryzen 5 7430U | 6 | 4.3 GHz | 16 MB | 16 GB | 512 GB SSD |
| Thinvent Treo Mini PC (N5095A) | Intel N5095A | 4 | 2.9 GHz | 4 MB | 4 GB | 128 GB SSD |
| Thinvent Micro 5R Thin Client | ARM Cortex A53 | 4 | 2.0 GHz | - | 2 GB | 16 GB eMMC |
The Thinvent range does not include a dedicated AI accelerator. The Thinvent products on this page run on the CPU and memory listed above.
Thinvent products for open-source AI workloads
Thinvent has industrial PCs, mini PCs and thin clients that run Ubuntu Linux or Windows 11. The Thinvent Industrial PC IPC5 with Intel Core i7-1255U and 32GB RAM, the Thinvent Treo Mini PC with Ubuntu Linux, and the Thinvent Industrial PC IPC3 with Ubuntu Linux are the Thinvent products on this page that ship with a Linux operating system.
