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TROY SBDC to present its model "Start Your Business" program at national conference in Washington, D.C. in April
The Small Business Development Center at Troy University has been invited to present its Start Your Business program at the National Community Reinvestment Coalition’s Just Economy Conference, held in Washington D.C. April 13-16.
Upcoming event to help small-business owners go 'beyond the hype' with AI
Trying to figure out how AI applies to your small business? A free upcoming event will offer expert advice on where to begin.
U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index
Small businesses are healthy but cautious in Q1 2026, with inflation back as the No. 1 concern and owners dialing back growth plans.
SBA official visits Rochester business that builds all-wheel-drive motorcycles
The future of small businesses was the center of a visit from federal officials in Rochester on Wednesday.
2026 Peabody Awards Entertainment Nominations
Additional noteworthy TV shows up for the prestigious honor, designed to recognize impactful small-screen storytelling, include 'Adolescence,' 'Andor,' 'Death by Lightning,' 'Dying for Sex,' 'Forever,' 'Mussolini: Son of the Century,' 'Pluribus' and 'The Rehearsal.'
Apple permanently closing three US stores, here's why
Apple is closing three US retail stores due to declining mall conditions, the company announced today. Here are the full details.
Maguire's Gene Jones Jr., Scott Jones named SBA South Dakota Small Business Champions
“Gene and Scott are the real deal. You can see it in the way they support our community with their time. You can also see it in the way they do business."
Registration open for 2026 Mayor’s Small Business Conference
SAVANNAH, Ga. (WSAV) – Registration officially opened Thursday for the annual Savannah 2026 Mayor’s Small Business Conference. This one-day conference is hosted by the City’s Economic …
Arlington Supports Businesses Ahead of World Cup 2026™
In the latest episode of “Arlington Welcomes the World,” City experts shared key guidance on permits, planning and business readiness ahead of the tournament.
Pitt’s philosophy program ranked No. 5 in the 2026 QS World University Rankings by Subject
The three Dietrich School units that make up the program continued its top-five streak, which dates back 10 years.
A simple step to support Minnesota’s small businesses
To show a commitment to owners of small businesses, Minnesota should extend the pass-through entity tax election.
Longtime Bloomington landmark Laserlite has closed. Here’s what’s coming.
The former Laserlite property is at 4505 E. Third St., just west of Bruster’s ice cream shop.
Strait of Hormuz traffic still stalled despite US-Iran ceasefire
Movements are dominated by smaller, risk-tolerant operators, while mainstream oil majors and large global shipping firms remain absent.
GUEST COLUMN: NC State students turn their campus experiences into a business
SUMMARY: Three SKEMA Business School students used their academic experience at NC State to build Apolia, an artificial intelligence voice assistant designed for small businesses.
Local man named Ohio’s Small Business Person of the Year
A local business owner has received big recognition in the state.
Small business owners in Maryland face challenges due to high gas prices
Measles outbreak spreads in Utah, hitting people without the vaccine
What started as a small outbreak of measles along the Utah-Arizona border has spread to every corner of the Beehive State.
New York Small Businesses Win Legal Challenge to Onerous New Wetlands Regulations
NFIB joined a lawsuit in 2025 challenging a harmful, vague wetlands mandate in New York.
Monkey business: Small fleet keeps getting violations for handling lab animals
JKL Secure Freight's been getting in trouble with the USDA -- and an animal-rights groups -- over its handling of monkeys for science experiments. A look at the fleet's roadside-inspection history doesn't inspire much confidence either.
Comptroller Review Finds City's Small Business Forward Program Failed to Cut Red Tape or Limit Fines
New York, NY — A new review conducted by auditors of New York City Comptroller Mark Levine found the Small Business Forward program, aimed at easing regulatory and financial burdens on small businesses across the five boroughs, failed to achieve meaningful change for small businesses in New York City. Vague definitions, a lack...
Businesses in Rochester's EMMA, Beechwood neighborhoods to receive grant funding
Through KeyBank's Small Business Fund, local businesses can apply for grants from $2,500 to $10,000.
Marcus Williams named assistant chief of police, honored for leadership - UT Health San Antonio
Marcus Williams was formally sworn in as assistant chief of police for UT San Antonio’s Health Science Center April 7, marking a milestone in a career defined by strong leadership and operational excellence.
National Public Health Week: How do we contribute to public health in our community?
[vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text css=””]Clean drinking water; safe food and milk; seatbelts and safer road design; smoke-free indoor air; the peace of mind not having to worry about smallpox or polio – these are just a few of the ways that public health makes us all safer. Each year during the first full week of April, the American … Continue reading
Apple's New M5 MacBook Air Hits $949 Record Low Price on Amazon
Amazon has introduced a few new record low prices on the M5 MacBook Air this week, with up to $150 off these notebooks. We started tracking these deals over the weekend, and the selection of color options at best-ever prices has only expanded since then. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Half of US States Are Now in Revolt Over Money in Politics
Idaho became the 25th state Wednesday to formally urge Congress to propose a constitutional amendment that allows federal and state legislative bodies to have greater authority over the flow of money in US politics.
Insta360’s Snap is a tiny magnetic phone screen for taking rear-camera selfies
Insta360 made a smaller rear selfie screen for your phone.
Avalara to Deliver Fully Embedded, Automated Sales Tax Compliance Tool to Small Businesses Within the Clover Platform
New integration brings seamless access to daily tax set-aside, real-time tracking, and guaranteed filing and remittance DURHAM, N.C., April 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Avalara, Inc., the agentic tax...
Southern cafeteria are closing. Can small business owners save them?
While chains like Morrison's, Luby's, Piccadilly, and S&S close tons of cafeteria locations, two mom-and-pop ones in Tucker, Georgia are thriving.
Metro Detroit small businesses weigh in on economy
Confidence is falling among small-business owners, per a recent national survey.
Lieutenant Gov. Kim Driscoll boosts economy at Springfield business roundtable
A small business roundtable convened Tuesday in Springfield, bringing together local business owners and state leaders to discuss the challenges facing the region’s economy.
Roger Marshall visits Topeka to talk with NFIB, small business owners
Senator Roger Marshall met with Kansas small business owners to discuss health care costs, tax cuts and regulations.
How sports betting is hooking some young men
Not everyone who uses sports betting apps will get in trouble — but with so many people taking part, even a small percentage represents a big problem.
How sports betting is hooking some young men
Not everyone who uses sports betting apps will get in trouble — but with so many people taking part, even a small percentage represents a big problem.
Mayor Mamdani appoints 'mom and pop czar' to reduce red tape for NYC small business owners
Delia Awusi was hired to reduce the runaround mom and pop small businesses often face in dealing with permits, inspections and fines.
The East Baton Rouge Parish Library: Where entrepreneurs go to grow
Sponsored by East Baton Rouge Parish Library When it comes to powering local entrepreneurship, the East Baton Rouge Parish Library and The Alliance are building one of the region’s most dynamic engines for small business growth. Their collaborative Small Business Engine Series has evolved into a practical, boots-on-the-ground resource for aspiring and established business owners alike, blending […]
Barbershop named the West Virginia Family-Owned Small Business of the Year
PARKERSBURG – A small local business that has been around for over 60 years is being honored for its continuing ties to the community. Marchell’s Barbershop, at 615 Market St., was named the West Virginia Family-Owned Small Business of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration’s West Virginia District Office, as part of National […]
Small business sentiment declines as concerns about inflation rise
The quarterly Ipsos/U.S. Chamber of Commerce Small Business Index in Q1 2026 is down slightly from Q4 2025
Jason Archer Chosen for Small Business Monthly’s Top 100 St. Louisans List
Award ceremony for recipients held on April 7 Jason Archer, vice president of business development at St. Louis Economic Development Partnership (STL Partnership), was among the group chosen in St.…
Small Business of the Month: Wolf Metals
Each month throughout the season, one local company will be recognized by the Blue Jackets and First Merchants Bank
Small Business Bankruptcies Surge 67 Percent in First Quarter
A sharp rise in small business reorganizations and consumer filings signals mounting financial pressure as debt levels and interest rates remain high.
Small Business Expo coming to Bladen County this month
The event brings together entrepreneurs, startups and businesses to network, collaborate and grow.
Small Businesses Cut Back Hiring Plans as Inflation Concerns Grow
The U.S. Chamber's Q1 2026 Small Business Index reflects rising concerns among small businesses about inflation and the economy.
Ella Duggan Promoted to Branch & Business Development Manager at The Merrimack
Merrimack County Savings Bank (The Merrimack) congratulates Ella Duggan on her promotion to Branch & Business Development Manager. In this role, Duggan will oversee branch operations while continuing to serve Contoocook and its small business community. “Ella’s promotion is well-earned and reflects her consistent growth over the years,” said Michelle Olivier, RVP Branch Manager at The Merrimack. “I’m […]
Report: Iran, inflation concern small businesses
(The Center Square) - U.S. small businesses reported reduced spending and hiring amid concerns over military strikes against Iran and looming inflation data, according to a new report.
Small businesses are ‘doing fine.’ That’s a problem for the U.S. Chamber of Commerce
Small business owners are feeling uneasy about the Iran war. They're doing just fine, but that's not good considering all of the tax incentives created to help them do much better.
Updated Iowa women's basketball scholarship allocations
After the transfer portal entrances of Teagan Mallegni and Emely Rodriguez, what does Iowa women's basketball's scholarship allocation look like?
Accel Entertainment, Inc. to Report First Quarter 2026 Results, Host Conference Call and Webcast on May 5
CHICAGO, April 07, 2026--Accel Entertainment, Inc. (NYSE: ACEL) ("Accel" or "the Company"), a leading locals-focused gaming operator partnering with small businesses, local communities, and state governments to provide entertaining, convenient, and safe gaming experiences nationwide, announced today it will release its financial and operating results for the first quarter ended March 31, 2026, after market close on Tuesday, May 5, 2026. The Company will host a conference call and webcast that da
MAGA Is Winning Its War Against U.S. Science
Source: NBER With all the other terrible news right now, you may not have noticed that Donald Trump is in the process of killing American science. OK, that’s an exaggeration — but not that much of an exaggeration. The Trump administration’s latest budget proposal calls for a gigantic increase in military spending combined with severe cuts to social programs. But as the chart above shows, it also calls for debilitating reductions in research funding. Furthermore, Trump appointees have already been strangling science by sharply reducing the rate at which research grants are approved. Here, for example, is the number of new grants approved by the National Science Foundation: Source: Nature Large numbers of existing grants have also been frozen or terminated, especially in the study of infectious diseases. Add to this a sharp drop in visas issued to foreign students, who often play a direct role in research and who help support academic departments that do research: Put all of this together, and much U.S. scientific research is set to come to a screeching halt — not a few years from now, but over the course of the next year or two. This new assault on U.S. science is taking place at a time when the role of American science in the world has already been greatly eroded. The chart below, based on research recently reported by the National Bureau of Economic Research, measures national strength in science by the share of publications in highly ranked journals. In the 1990s the United States had more such publications than the rest of the world combined. Since then we’ve dropped into third place — well behind China and slightly below the European Union. And this was before the Trump administration’s attack on science had time to take its full effect. Source Some erosion in U.S. scientific preeminence was inevitable given China’s growing sophistication and wealth. But we’ve also fallen behind Europe, even though everyone says that Europe is lagging economically and technologically. Claims about Europe’s underperformance are, in fact, dubious if one looks hard at the data. But it’s still striking to see America lagging. What’s going on? There are presumably multiple factors behind America’s scientific lag. But even before Trump II the growing hostility of the U.S. right to science surely had some negative effect. And since the rise of MAGA G.O.P. attitudes toward science in general have become overwhelmingly hostile. This is true even for the Republican rank and file: And while I haven’t been able to find good survey data, it’s obvious that the anti-science turn has been even more pronounced — and began earlier — among the Republican political elite. Chris Mooney published The Republican War on Science in 2005, and even then was describing a longstanding trend. Why have Republicans turned so anti-science? Part of the answer is that they believe that scientists don’t support them. And they’re right! A study of who scientists give money to shows that only a small percentage gave money to Republicans even 20 years ago, and that almost none of them donate to Republicans now: Social scientists have always been strongly pro-Democratic, while there used to be a significant number of physical, “hard” scientists supporting the GOP. But these days physicists are almost as uniformly Democratic, or at least non-Republican, as sociologists. Why are there almost no Republican scientists? It’s not a mystery. GOP political orthodoxy includes positions that are at odds with the scientific consensus on multiple issues, ranging from the validity of the theory of evolution, to the reality of climate change, to the efficacy and safety of vaccines. In each case the scientific consensus is solidly grounded in evidence. But even before the rise of MAGA the U.S. right was increasingly hostile to evidence-based policymaking — especially, of course, where the evidence is unfavorable to fossil fuel interests or quack medicine, both financial mainstays of right-wing politics. So scientists don’t support Republicans, and the feeling is mutual. Today’s Republican Party doesn’t like science or scientists. It doesn’t like having its preconceived views challenged by appeals to evidence. It knows that very few scientists are on its side electorally. In general, it sees scientific research as a threat to its grasp on political power. Add in MAGA’s combination of rabid anti-intellectualism and allergy to any hint of criticism, and one has the makings of a drastic anti-science turn in policy. “Ignorance is strength” might was well be an official MAGA motto. And as I said, we aren’t talking about something that will happen over the course of multiple years: The U.S. scientific enterprise is threatened with severe damage, even collapse, over just the next year. There are many reasons to find this prospect horrifying: Think of all the beneficial advances, affecting almost every part of life, that won’t happen because U.S. science — still crucial to the world — has been eviscerated. But think, also, of America’s international standing. Can a nation that has forfeited its role as a leader, or even a contender, in global science, still be a Great Power? No. MUSICAL CODA
Small-business optimism falls for second straight quarter
The numbers signal a "growing unease" over rising inflation and the Iran war, the Chamber said.
OPINION: Social media tax would hurt Nebraska’s small businesses and communities
I understand lawmakers’ social media concerns, and I share their desire for juvenile mental health. But those issues should be funded directly.
NuScale Power (SMR) Is a Science Project, Says Jim Cramer
NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR) is one of the 9 Stocks Jim Cramer Talked About & Commented On SpaceX’s IPO. NuScale Power Corporation (NYSE:SMR) is a small modular reactor technology company based in Oregon. Its shares are down by 28% over the past year and by 37% year-to-date. UBS discussed the firm on March 19th when it […]
Las Vegas breaks ground on Westside small-business center set to open in 2027
A new business support center is coming to Las Vegas’ Historic Westside, with city leaders and a local business consulting firm breaking ground on a project aim
ASU research looks to help Valley small businesses adapt to AI
While businesses are struggling to keep up with large companies in the Artificial Intelligence boom, local researchers are working to give them an edge.
Small business owners react to hemp restriction bill in Missouri
A new bill in Missouri could change the way many get hemp products after November.
Eligibility questions spark calls to suspend Minnesota’s $100 million ‘promise’ to small businesses
5 INVESTIGATES found several Minnesota Promise grant recipients appear to be operating miles outside of eligible neighborhoods, and others that may not be operating at all.
Rochester business leaders back Hochul in state budget negotiations
They say that the state is at a "inflection point" for families and small businesses due to rising costs.
District 2 Launches Community Canvas Small Business Mural Program
Today, the District 2 Council Office announced the launch of a Community Canvas Small Business Mural Program, a new initiative designed to support five small businesses in District 2.
Small Business Index Q1 2026
Small Businesses Express More Concern Over The Economy Amid Uncertainty
Delaware Small Business Employment Index Pulls Back
Main Street owners continue searching for qualified applicants.
MS Lawmakers Deliver Wins for Small Business, But More Work Remains
This year's session ended on Sunday, April 5.
Opening Doors to Opportunity: How Governors are Supporting Entrepreneurship
New businesses – including small businesses – are the backbone of the economy. They drive job growth, reduce poverty and strengthen GDP. Yet, the rate of new business formation in America has fallen by nearly half over 40+ years. It’s far more expensive to start a business in the U.S. than the U.K., China, Australia, Brazil, Canada, Sweden, […]
Apple's 2026 MacBook Pro Hits All-Time Low Prices on Amazon With Up to $199 Off
Amazon is offering a few all-time low prices on Apple's M5 Pro/M5 Max MacBook Pro, with up to $199 off select models without the need of a membership or clipping a coupon. These deals join Amazon's discounts on the M5 MacBook Air from over the weekend, which are seeing up to $200 in savings. MacBook Pro Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
How fuel surcharges are squeezing small business margins
Rising fuel costs are hitting small businesses with a new wave of shipping expenses, as major carriers pass along higher diesel prices through surcharges many owners say feel like “tariffs 2.0,” The Wall Street Journal writes. FedEx and UPS have pushed fuel surcharges above 26%, while diesel prices have surged sharply in recent weeks, driving […]
Teagan Mallegni is Iowa’s fourth player to enter the transfer portal
IOWA CITY — Teagan Mallegni’s first game as an Iowa women’s basketball player was an eye-opener.
Inside Project Nova, Firefox's biggest redesign in years
We sit down with Ajit Varma, the head of Firefox at Mozilla, to learn more about the Project Nova redesign, how Firefox will integrate AI, and the challenges and opportunities as a smaller browser maker.
MLB Power Rankings: Dodgers and Yankees blah blah blah, let's talk about the Brewers and Pirates(?!)
Meanwhile, get your 'small sample size' and 'it's early yet' caveats out now, because we're done with them
NFIB: Small business hiring slows, worker shortages persist
In March, 32 percent of small business owners reported unfilled job openings as employers continued to struggle with labor costs and applicant quality.
This “forbidden” exoplanet has an atmosphere scientists can’t explain
A strange “forbidden” planet spotted by the James Webb Space Telescope is turning planetary science on its head. TOI-5205 b, a Jupiter-sized world orbiting a small, cool star, has an atmosphere surprisingly poor in heavy elements—even less enriched than its own star, which defies current theories of how giant planets form.
Scientists may finally detect hidden ripples in spacetime
Scientists have taken a major step toward probing one of physics’ biggest mysteries—how gravity and quantum mechanics fit together—by creating the first unified way to detect tiny “ripples” in spacetime itself. These subtle fluctuations, long predicted but poorly defined, are now organized into clear categories with specific signals that real-world instruments can search for. The breakthrough means powerful tools like LIGO and even small tabletop experiments could start testing competing theories of quantum gravity much sooner than expected.
Detroit small businesses say tariff refunds could be a lifeline -- if they can clear the federal hurdles
Billions of dollars in tariff refunds could be on the way for American companies but getting that money back will be anything but simple. Experts also warn consumers probably won’t see a dime.
Citizen science project to track small mammals in Guernsey
The project aims to gather more data on species that are difficult to monitor.
Denton small business conference FlintConf returns with focus on values-driven entrepreneurship
Denton coworking space Stoke, in partnership with the Denton Office of Economic Development, recently announced the return of its small business and creative entrepreneur conference FlintConf.
Amazon Takes Up to $200 Off M5 MacBook Air With New Record Low Prices
Amazon has introduced a few new record low prices on the M5 MacBook Air this weekend, with up to $200 off these notebooks. We're tracking $149 off the 13-inch M5 MacBook Air and up to $200 off the 15-inch models. Note: MacRumors is an affiliate partner with Amazon. When you click a link and make a purchase, we may receive a small payment, which helps us keep the site running.
Intel shows Texture Set Neural Compression, claims up to 18x smaller texture sets
TSNC Variant A delivers 9x texture compression, lower-quality B variant up to 18x Intel has shared new details on Texture Set Neural Compression, or TSNC,
Low and slow meets forever: US postage stamps honor lowrider car culture
NEW MEXICO Stamps honor lowrider culture ALBUQUERQUE — From Mexican American and Chicano barrios in the American Southwest to the halls of the Smithsonian on the National Mall and even the streets of Japan, lowrider culture has become part of mainstream car culture around the globe. The U.S. Postal Service is joining the club with […]
Small businesses need AI help
Small businesses should get more help in the changing world of AI, one reader writes. Another said plug in solar could lower utility bills.
Why more small businesses are adding credit card surcharges — and what it means for your wallet
They're paying massive processing fees for card transactions. Often, you’ll end up footing the bill.
Union Station will host a World Cup marketplace for Kansas City's small businesses
Businesses and brand sponsors can apply now to take part in the activation, a short walk from where the FIFA Fan Festival is planned. “The marketplace will transform Union Station into a high-energy retail and cultural destination," organizers said.
Manuel's El Burrito in Clearfield marks 50 years in business; operators hope for 50 more
Manuel's El Burrito in Clearfield held a small celebration on Tuesday to mark 50 years in business, making it among Utah's longest-lasting Mexican restaurants.
Scientists trap light in a layer 1,000x thinner than hair
Researchers have created a nanoscale structure that traps infrared light in a layer just 40 nanometers thick—over 1,000 times thinner than a human hair. By using a unique material with exceptional light-bending properties, they can confine and intensify light far beyond previous limits. This setup also dramatically boosts light conversion effects, turning infrared into visible blue light. The advance could pave the way for smaller, faster photonic technologies.
Small Business Workshop on Social Media Marketing
If you’ve boosted posts and gotten little to no results, you’re not alone.
Bangor councilor makes controversial comments on hot mic
The Bangor School Department issued a statement in response to Mallar’s comments: “As a public school system, we accept all students regardless of their background, country of origin, immigration status, religion, or family circumstance.”
Nintendo Switch Games Normally $50 Now Only $5 on eShop
Nintendo Switch games that Nintendo fans normally have to pay $50 on the eShop are only $5 for a limited time.
Pokémon cards are igniting an international crime spree
Pokémon cards have skyrocketed in value since the pandemic, making them an attractive target for smash-and-grab robberies. Small businesses around the world have been targeted.
Mastery of sex offender registry attracts major investment in Mandeville small business
Mandeville-based Watch Systems makes OffenderWatch and other software solutions to track the sex offender registry and help law enforcement agencies ensure compliance with evolving state laws.
France to Offer Loans to Small Businesses Hit by Fuel Costs
The French government will offer loans of as much as €50,000 ($57,600) to small businesses that are the most exposed to rising fuel costs in transportation, fishing and agriculture.
New Business: Slightly Crooked Pies opens on Manchester’s Elm Street, The Mallard lands in Londonderry
Entering Slightly Crooked Pies on Elm Street in Manchester, customers are taken back in time. The homey wallpaper features cherries in the design to fit the theme, and the space
Mangat Group bets $250M on West Valley small business spaces
A developer plans to invest $250 million in small industrial units, targeting small business squeezed out by large warehouses.
Former Bluefield economic developer completes first year with Small Business Administration
A longtime southern West Virginia economic developer has completed his first year working for the federal government.
Small Business Cybersecurity Training Program Scales Nationwide
The national Small Business Development Center is taking a program that was started in Delaware and offering it through its full 1,200-center network across the country.
Business moves from mall to across the street
Kay Jewelers is on the move from White Oaks Mall.
Trump Wants To Cut Two-Thirds Of Small Business Administration Funds Next Year
The proposal looks to make a $671 million decrease from the money given to the SBA in 2026.
Trump Wants To Cut Two-Thirds Of Small Business Administration Funds Next Year
The proposal looks to make a $671 million decrease from the money given to the SBA in 2026.
Gemma 4 and what makes an open model succeed
Having written a lot of model release blog posts, there’s something much harder about reviewing open models when they drop relative to closed models, especially in 2026. In recent years, there were so few open models, so when Llama 3 was released most people were still doing research on Llama 2 and super happy to get an update. When Qwen 3 was released, the Llama 4 fiasco had just gone down, and a whole research community was emerging to study RL on Qwen 2.5 — it was a no brainer to upgrade. Today, when an open model releases, it’s competing with Qwen 3.5, Kimi K2.5, GLM 5, MiniMax M2.5, GPT-OSS, Arcee Large, Nemotron 3, Olmo 3, and others. The space is populated, but still feels full of hidden opportunity. The potential of open models feels like a dark matter, a potential we know is huge, but few clear recipes and examples for how to unlock it are out there. Agentic AI, OpenClaw, and everything brewing in that space is going to spur mass experimentation in open models to complement the likes of Claude and Codex, not replace them. Especially with open models, the benchmarks at release are an extremely incomplete story. In some ways this is exciting, as new open models have a much higher variance and ability to surprise, but it also points at some structural reasons that make building businesses and great AI experiences around open models harder than the closed alternatives. When a new Claude Opus or GPT drops, spending a few hours with them in my agentic workflows is genuinely a good vibe test. For open models, putting them through this test is a category error. Something else to be said about open models in the era of agents is that they get out of the debate of integration, harnesses, and tools and let us see close to the ground on what exactly is the ability of just a model. Of course, we can’t test some things like search abilities without some tool, but being able to measure exactly the pace of progress of the model alone is a welcome simplification to a systematically opaque AI space. Share The list of factors I’d use to assess a new open-weight model I’m considering investing in includes: Model performance (and size) — how this model performs on benchmarks I care about and how it compares to other models of a similar size. Country of origin — some businesses care deeply about provenance, and if a model was built in China or not. Model license — if a model needs legal approval for use, uptake will be slower at mid-sized and large companies. Tooling at release — many models release with half-broken, or at least substantially slower, implementations in popular software like vLLM, Transformers, SGLANG, etc due to pushing the envelope of architectures or tools. Model fine-tunability — how easy or hard it is to modify the given model to your use-case when you actually try and use it. The core problem is that some of these are immediately available at release, e.g. general performance, license, origin, etc. but others such as tooling take day(s) to week(s) to stabilize, and others are open research questions — with no group systematically monitoring fine-tunability. In the early era of open models, the days of Llama 2 or 3 and Qwen pre v3.5, the architectures were fairly simple and the models tended to work out of the box. Some of this was due to the extremely hard work of the Llama, Qwen, Mistral, etc. developer teams. Some is due to the new models being genuinely harder to work with. When it comes to something like Qwen 3.5 or Nemotron 3, with hybrid models (either gated delta net or mamba layers), the tooling is very rough at release. Things you would expect to “just work” often don’t. I’ve been following this area closely since we released Olmo Hybrid with a similar architecture, and Qwen 3.5 is just starting to work well in the various open-source tools that need to all play nice together for RL research. That’s 1.5 months after the release date! This is just to start really investing more into understanding the behavior of the models. Of course, others started working on these models sooner by investing more engineering resources or relying on partially closed software. The fully open and distributed ecosystem takes a long time to get going on some new models. All of this is lead-in for the most important question for open models — how easy is it to adapt to specific use-cases? This is a different problem for different model sizes. Large MoE open-weight models may be used by entities like Cursor who need complex capabilities in their domain, e.g. Composer 2 trained on Kimi K2.5. Other applications can be built on much smaller models, such as Chroma’s Context-1 model for agentic search, built on GPT-OSS 20B. The question of “which models are fine-tunable” is largely background knowledge known by engineers across the industry. There should be a thriving research area here to support the open ecosystem model. The first step is to understand characteristics of different base and post-trained models to understand what they look like. The second step is to tune pretraining recipes for open models so they’re more flexible. Interconnects AI is a reader-supported publication. Consider becoming a subscriber. Subscribe For The ATOM Project and other Interconnects endeavors, we’ve put in substantial effort to measuring adoption trends in the open ecosystem. Everything takes a long time to unfold after a model is first publicly available — and adaptability is why. What we know for sure now, when Qwen has been going from strength to strength with its releases, is that technical staff across the industry has gotten comfortable working with Qwen models. Countless research methods and datasets were made to work with Qwen. It’ll take patience for any other model family to get to this point — a patience I’m not sure many open model builders have. This takes us to Gemma 4, Google’s latest open models. Gemma 3 was released more than a year ago, in March of 2025, and is a bit underrated. Gemma 4 comes in 4 sizes for now, with a bigger, MoE model of over 100B total parameters rumored but not released yet. The models we have today come in sizes of ~5B dense, 8B dense, 26B total 4B active MoE, and 31B dense. I’m most excited that they’re finally adopting a standard Apache 2.0 open source license. This’ll massively boost adoption. The standard of better licenses for strong open-weight LLMs was set by mostly Chinese open model labs in the last 1-2 years, and now U.S. companies are following suit. I will personally be so happy if the horrible Llama licenses and Gemma terms of service were an ~18-month transient dynamic of the industry being nervous about releasing strong open models. The Gemma 4 scores look very solid, the small models have incredible benchmark scores (especially in general domains like LMArena) and the 31B model rivals the recent Qwen 3.5 27B, which is the leading member of that class. The ~30B size range is an important one, as it’s accessible both to researchers and to enterprises looking to deploy the model in real use-cases. Where the 7B model scale is the default for tinkering and research, a 30B model is the default for seeing if an open model can unlock substantial value in your specific workflow — a good mix of intelligence, low price, tractability for downstream training, etc. This takes us back to the above adoption criteria I mentioned for open models and the bigger question — do I think Gemma 4 will be an overwhelming success? Previous Gemma models have been plagued by tooling issues and poorer performance when being finetuned. Gemma 4’s success is going to be entirely determined by ease of use, to a point where a 5-10% swing on benchmarks wouldn’t matter at all. It’s strong enough, small enough, with the right license, and from the U.S., so many companies are going to slot it in. I’m cautiously optimistic that Gemma 4 is going to work better here. Winds are shifting for open models built in America. We saw GPT-OSS go through a bumpy launch to become an overwhelming success. There’s a collective energy around the likes of Reflection, Arcee, Nemotron, Gemma, Olmo, and peers that show substantial demand for building new stacks around open models. There’s capital to be spent on AI stacks across the economy by those who want more ownership of everything, including the model. After launching The ATOM Project 240 days ago, the conversation is shifting into the next stage. Summer of 2025 was a crisis moment where the U.S. AI scene realized it can’t wait and figure out open models after building AGI. The two markets will capture different areas and proceed in parallel. Now that more companies in the U.S. are releasing strong models, we need to improve the ecosystem so that these models are easy to use, understand, and build value around. It’s the hard work to build another inflection point in these adoption plots I’ve been updating consistently, but that’s the work to be done. Join me in it. More data coming soon! Here’s a sneak peek:
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