# MLS-Bench Lite

> A 30-task subset of MLS-Bench that evaluates whether AI systems can invent generalizable and scalable machine-learning methods.

Canonical page: https://benchlm.ai/benchmarks/mlsbenchlite

- Category: [Coding](/coding)
- Last updated: September 27, 2026

## About MLS-Bench Lite

- Year: 2026
- Tasks: 30 machine-learning research tasks
- Format: Agentic ML task evaluation
- Difficulty: ML research and systems engineering
- Paper: [MLS-Bench](https://mls-bench.com/)

Moonshot reports MLS-Bench Lite as a coding-agent result for Kimi K2.7 Code. BenchLM stores the provider-reported exact value separately from weighted coding benchmarks because the row is a newly reported benchmark variant with sparse public model coverage.

MLS-Bench Lite is currently displayed on BenchLM for reference, but it is excluded from the weighted scoring formula.

## Leaderboard (4 models)

| Rank | Model | Creator | Score |
|------|-------|---------|-------|
| 1 | [Kimi K3](/models/kimi-k3) | Moonshot AI | 48.3% |
| 2 | [Qwen3.8 Max](/models/qwen3-8-max) | Alibaba | 41.0% |
| 3 | [Step 5 Preview](/models/step-5-preview) | StepFun | 40.5% |
| 4 | [Kimi K2.7 Code](/models/kimi-k2-7-code) | Moonshot AI | 35.1% |

## FAQ

### What does MLS-Bench Lite measure?

A 30-task subset of MLS-Bench that evaluates whether AI systems can invent generalizable and scalable machine-learning methods.

### Which model scores highest on MLS-Bench Lite?

Kimi K3 by Moonshot AI currently leads with a score of 48.3% on MLS-Bench Lite.

### How many models are evaluated on MLS-Bench Lite?

4 AI models have been evaluated on MLS-Bench Lite on BenchLM.

### Does MLS-Bench Lite affect BenchLM's overall score?

Not directly. MLS-Bench Lite is still displayed on BenchLM for reference, but it is excluded from the weighted scoring formula.

## Compare Top Models on MLS-Bench Lite

- [Kimi K3 vs Qwen3.8 Max](/compare/kimi-k3-vs-qwen3-8-max)
- [Qwen3.8 Max vs Step 5 Preview](/compare/qwen3-8-max-vs-step-5-preview)
- [Step 5 Preview vs Kimi K2.7 Code](/compare/kimi-k2-7-code-vs-step-5-preview)