Un Ministral, Des Ministraux

3b is is API-only so you won’t be able to run it on-device, which is the killer app for these smaller edge models.

I’m not opposed to licensing but “email us for a license” is a bad sign for indie developers, in my experience.

8b weights are here https://huggingface.co/mistralai/Ministral-8B-Instruct-2410

Commercial entities aren’t permitted to use or distribute 8b weights - from the agreement (which states research purposes only):

"Research Purposes": means any use of a Mistral Model, Derivative, or Output that is solely for (a) personal, scientific or academic research, and (b) for non-profit and non-commercial purposes, and not directly or indirectly connected to any commercial activities or business operations. For illustration purposes, Research Purposes does not include (1) any usage of the Mistral Model, Derivative or Output by individuals or contractors employed in or engaged by companies in the context of (a) their daily tasks, or (b) any activity (including but not limited to any testing or proof-of-concept) that is intended to generate revenue, nor (2) any Distribution by a commercial entity of the Mistral Model, Derivative or Output whether in return for payment or free of charge, in any medium or form, including but not limited to through a hosted or managed service (e.g. SaaS, cloud instances, etc.), or behind a software layer.

Isn't 3b the kind of size you'd expect to be able to run on the edge? What is the point of using 3b via API when you can use larger and more capable models?

GP misunderstood: 3b will be available for running on edge devices, but you must sign a deal with Mistral to get access to the weights to run.

I don't think that can work without a significant lobbying push towards models running on the edge but who knows (especially since they have a former French Minister in the founding team).