Falcon 2: UAE’s Technology Innovation Institute Releases New AI Model Series, Outperforming Meta’s New Llama 3
May 13 2024 - 9:36AM
Business Wire
- Next-Gen Falcon 2 Series launches AI Model that is Open-Source,
Multilingual, and Multimodal – and is only AI Model with
Vision-to-Language Capabilities
- New Falcon 2 11B Outperforms Meta’s Llama 3 8B, and Performs on
par with leading Google Gemma 7B Model, as Independently Verified
by Hugging Face Leaderboard
- Immediate Plans Include Exploring 'Mixture of Experts' for
Enhanced Machine Learning Capabilities
The Technology Innovation Institute (TII), a leading global
scientific research center and the applied research pillar of Abu
Dhabi’s Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC), today launched
a second iteration of its renowned large language model (LLM) –
Falcon 2. Within this series, it has unveiled two groundbreaking
versions: Falcon 2 11B, a more efficient and accessible LLM trained
on 5.5 trillion tokens with 11 billion parameters, and Falcon 2 11B
VLM, distinguished by its vision-to-language model (VLM)
capabilities, which enable seamless conversion of visual inputs
into textual outputs. While both models are multilingual, notably,
Falcon 2 11B VLM stands out as TII's first multimodal model – and
the only one currently in the top tier market that has this
image-to-text conversion capability, marking a significant
advancement in AI innovation.
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Falcon Image Caption Generator (Photo:
AETOSWire)
Tested against several prominent AI models in its class among
pre-trained models, Falcon 2 11B surpasses the performance of
Meta’s newly launched Llama 3 with 8 billion parameters (8B), and
performs on par with Google’s Gemma 7B at first place (Falcon 2
11B: 64.28 vs Gemma 7B: 64.29), as independently verified by
Hugging Face, a US-based platform hosting an objective evaluation
tool and global leaderboard for open LLMs. More importantly, Falcon
2 11B and 11B VLM are both open-source, empowering developers
worldwide with unrestricted access. In the near future, there are
plans to broaden the Falcon 2 next-generation models, introducing a
range of sizes. These models will be further enhanced with advanced
machine learning capabilities like 'Mixture of Experts' (MoE),
aimed at pushing their performance to even more sophisticated
levels.
All of TII’s AI models released to date have consistently ranked
in the top tier globally, as the most powerful open-source LLMs.
The new scaled-down and versatile Falcon 2 11B models are set to
give TII greater market adoption in the ever-evolving world of
generative AI.
Falcon 2 11B models, equipped with multilingual capabilities,
seamlessly tackle tasks in English, French, Spanish, German,
Portuguese, and various other languages, enriching their
versatility and magnifying their effectiveness across diverse
scenarios. Falcon 2 11B VLM, a vision-to-language model, has the
capability to identify and interpret images and visuals from the
environment, providing a wide range of applications across
industries such as healthcare, finance, e-commerce, education, and
legal sectors. These applications range from document management,
digital archiving, and context indexing to supporting individuals
with visual impairments. Furthermore, these models can run
efficiently on just one graphics processing unit (GPU), making them
highly scalable, and easy to deploy and integrate into lighter
infrastructures like laptops and other devices.
H.E. Faisal Al Bannai, Secretary General of ATRC and Strategic
Research and Advanced Technology Affairs Advisor to the UAE
President, said: "With the release of Falcon 2 11B, we've
introduced the first model in the Falcon 2 series. While Falcon 2
11B has demonstrated outstanding performance, we reaffirm our
commitment to the open-source movement with it, and to the Falcon
Foundation. With other multimodal models soon coming to the market
in various sizes, our aim is to ensure that developers and entities
that value their privacy have access to one of the best AI models
to enable their AI journey."
Speaking on the model, Dr. Hakim Hacid, Executive Director and
Acting Chief Researcher of the AI Cross-Center Unit at TII, said:
“AI is continually evolving, and developers are recognizing the
myriad benefits of smaller, more efficient models. In addition to
reducing computing power requirements and meeting sustainability
criteria, these models offer enhanced flexibility, seamlessly
integrating into edge AI infrastructure, the next emerging
megatrend. Furthermore, the vision-to-language capabilities of
Falcon 2 open new horizons for accessibility in AI, empowering
users with transformative image to text interactions.”
The versatility of Falcon 2 11B has also led TII to consider
working on more exciting GenAI innovations. Among these will be the
adoption of a new type of machine learning capability known as the
aforementioned ‘Mixture of Experts’. This method involves
amalgamating smaller networks with distinct specializations,
ensuring that the most knowledgeable domains collaborate to deliver
highly sophisticated and customized responses – almost like having
a team of smart helpers who each know something different and work
together to predict or make decisions when needed. This approach
not only improves accuracy, but it also accelerates
decision-making, paving the way for more intelligent and efficient
AI systems.
Falcon 2 11B is licenced under TII Falcon License 2.0, the
permissive Apache 2.0-based software license which includes an
acceptable use policy that promotes the responsible use of AI. More
information on the new model can be found at FalconLLM.TII.ae.
Source: AETOSWire
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version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20240513516248/en/
Jennifer Dewan, Senior Director of Communications
Jennifer.dewan@tii.ae