Term
GLM-4.5
GLM-4.5 is an open model from Zhipu AI (Z.ai) released in July 2025. It is an agent-native Mixture-of-Experts model with 355 billion parameters (32 billion active), a 128,000-token context and an MIT licence.
GLM-4.5 — explained in detail
GLM-4.5 is an open-weight language model from the Chinese provider Zhipu AI (also operating as Z.ai), released on 28 July 2025. The model is under the permissive MIT licence; weights and code are freely available, so it can be run locally or on your own infrastructure.
Architecturally, GLM-4.5 is a Mixture-of-Experts (MoE) model with 355 billion parameters in total, of which around 32 billion are activated per token. There is also a smaller variant, GLM-4.5-Air, with 106 billion parameters (12 billion active). The context window spans 128,000 tokens.
The focus lies on an “agent-native” design: GLM-4.5 unites reasoning, coding and agentic action in a single model. It can autonomously plan multi-step tasks, generate complex data visualisations and manage end-to-end workflows. With this, Zhipu AI positions the model specifically for agent applications.
Example / practical relevance
GLM-4.5 is suited to applications that combine coding, tool use and multi-step planning — such as coding agents, automated research or the orchestration of entire workflows. The Air variant provides a more resource-efficient option for deployments with limited hardware. As an open-weight model, it also enables data sovereignty and custom fine-tuning.
Distinction
As an open-weight model under the MIT licence, GLM-4.5 sets itself apart from proprietary models (GPT, Claude, Gemini). Among open families (DeepSeek, Qwen, Kimi), it stands out through its agent-native design, which anchors reasoning and action firmly in the model. The Air variant differs from the main model mainly in its smaller size and lower compute requirements.