{"slug": "reflection-ai-debuts-open-source-beam-model-with-501b-parameters", "title": "Reflection AI debuts open-source Beam model with 501B parameters", "summary": "Reflection AI Inc. introduced Beam, an open-source large language model with 501 billion parameters, which the company says matches or beats GLM-5.2 on some tasks while using between one third and one fourth the hardware. Beam Base was trained on 6,144 graphics cards over 23.8 trillion tokens in under four weeks, followed by a reinforcement learning phase on 10,000 Nvidia GB300 cards that ran 1.3 billion sandboxes in four weeks with a median recovery time of eight minutes across 71 training errors. The launch follows Reflection AI's funding round at a $25 billion valuation and a reported $6.3 billion deal with SpaceX Corp. to rent Nvidia GB300 NVL72 appliances; Beam is initially available through an early access program, with weights, documentation and fine-tuning tools due later this month.", "body_md": "### Reflection AI debuts open-source Beam model with 501B parameters\n\nReflection AI Inc. today [introduced](https://reflection.ai/blog/introducing-beam) Beam, an open-source large language model with 501 billion parameters.\n\nThe launch comes a few months after the startup raised funding at a $25 billion valuation. Around the same time, Reflection AI [reportedly](https://www.cnbc.com/2026/06/22/spacex-ai-colossus-data-center-reflection.html) inked a $6.3 billion deal with SpaceX Corp. to rent Nvidia GB300 NVL72 appliances. It used those systems, which each contain 72 graphics cards, to train Beam.\n\nReflection AI benchmarked its model against GLM-5.2, an open-source LLM that includes about 250 billion more parameters. The company determined that Beam can perform some tasks better while using between one third and one fourth the hardware. Furthermore, it says that the LLM approaches the performance of Qwen 3.8-Max, a model with over 2 trillion parameters.\n\nThe launch is particularly notable because many of the open-source ecosystem’s most advanced LLMs were created by Chinese companies. That includes Qwen 3.8-Max and GLM-5.2. Beam is the first open-source model from a U.S. startup to have demonstrated comparable or better performance. However, free LLMs continue to trail frontier models such as Anthropic PBC’s Claude Fable 5.1.\n\nReflection AI kicked off the development of Beam by training a relatively small prototype model. It then created a series of successively larger, more capable algorithms. The workflow eventually produced Beam Base, the foundation on which Beam is based.\n\nThe company developed Beam Base using a cluster of 6,144 graphics cards. It trained the model on 23.8 trillion tokens sourced from the public web and commercial sources. That dataset included a significant amount of software code. It created custom filters for each programming language to remove low-quality files.\n\nBeam Base was developed in under four weeks. It subsequently performed midtraining, an optimization process that extended the model’s context window and enhanced its reasoning capabilities. That phase of the project set the stage for the third, most hardware-intensive phase of the training workflow.\n\nReflection AI spun up 10,000 GB300 graphics cards and used them to launch 1.3 billion reinforcement learning sandboxes. Those are virtual environments in which an AI model learns new skills. Beam’s sandboxes were optimized for tasks such as generating code, searching the web and running AI agents.\n\nThe company says the project’s reinforcement learning phase took only four weeks. It avoided unnecessary delays by developing software that prevented malfunctions from interrupting the workflow. It says its cluster achieved a median recovery time of eight minutes across the 71 errors that cropped up during training.\n\nBeam is initially available through an early access program. Reflection AI plans to release its weights, documentation and fine-tuning tools later this month.\n\n##### Photo of Reflection AI founders Misha Laskin and Ioannis Antonoglou: [Lightspeed](https://lsvp.com/stories/towards-superintelligence-reflection-ai/)\n\n# A message from John Furrier, co-founder of SiliconANGLE:\n\nSupport our mission to keep content open and free by engaging with theCUBE community. **Join theCUBE’s Alumni Trust Network**, where technology leaders connect, share intelligence and create opportunities.\n\n- **15M+ viewers of theCUBE videos** , powering conversations across AI, cloud, cybersecurity and more\n- **11.4k+ theCUBE alumni** — Connect with more than 11,400 tech and business leaders shaping the future through a unique trusted-based network\n\n### Are you an AWS customer?  Support SiliconANGLE financially by buying your AWS services from our Marketplace portal page and links: [https://siliconangle.com/aws-marketplace/](https://siliconangle.com/aws-marketplace/)\n\n##### **About SiliconANGLE Media**\n\n[SiliconANGLE](https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fsiliconangle.com%2F&esheet=54119777&newsitemid=20240910506833&lan=en-US&anchor=SiliconANGLE&index=9&md5=646b1b564e2259100a2b8638aab0a552),\n\n[theCUBE Network](https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecube.net%2F&esheet=54119777&newsitemid=20240910506833&lan=en-US&anchor=theCUBE+Network&index=10&md5=7de2a85f95ab4a4a495cede20b8cb1da),\n\n[theCUBE Research](https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fthecuberesearch.com%2F&esheet=54119777&newsitemid=20240910506833&lan=en-US&anchor=theCUBE+Research&index=11&md5=7bb33676722925eb57d588ec343e4f6f),\n\n[CUBE365](https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.cube365.net%2F&esheet=54119777&newsitemid=20240910506833&lan=en-US&anchor=CUBE365&index=12&md5=d310fb35919714e66ad8d42c9c0c1bc6),\n\n[theCUBE AI](https://cts.businesswire.com/ct/CT?id=smartlink&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.thecubeai.com%2F&esheet=54119777&newsitemid=20240910506833&lan=en-US&anchor=theCUBE+AI&index=13&md5=b8b98472f8071b23ebb10ab9a8dd0683)and theCUBE SuperStudios — with flagship locations in Silicon Valley and the New York Stock Exchange — SiliconANGLE Media operates at the intersection of media, technology and AI.\n\nFounded by tech visionaries John Furrier and Dave Vellante, SiliconANGLE Media has built a dynamic ecosystem of industry-leading digital media brands that reach 15+ million elite tech professionals. Our new proprietary theCUBE AI Video Cloud is breaking ground in audience interaction, leveraging theCUBEai.com neural network to help technology companies make data-driven decisions and stay at the forefront of industry conversations.", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/reflection-ai-debuts-open-source-beam-model-with-501b-parameters", "canonical_source": "https://siliconangle.com/2026/10/05/reflection-ai-debuts-open-source-beam-model-with-501b-parameters/", "published_at": "2026-10-06 00:46:33+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-10-06 17:18:52.854210+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["artificial-intelligence", "large-language-models", "ai-startups", "ai-infrastructure", "ai-chips"], "entities": ["Reflection AI Inc.", "Beam", "Beam Base", "GLM-5.2", "Qwen 3.8-Max", "SpaceX Corp.", "Nvidia GB300 NVL72", "Anthropic PBC"], "also_reported_by": [], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/reflection-ai-debuts-open-source-beam-model-with-501b-parameters", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/reflection-ai-debuts-open-source-beam-model-with-501b-parameters.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/reflection-ai-debuts-open-source-beam-model-with-501b-parameters.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/reflection-ai-debuts-open-source-beam-model-with-501b-parameters.jsonld"}}