AI Model Release Statistics (2026)
BenchLM tracked 217 AI model releases in the 12 months ending 2026-09-29 — a notable model release roughly every 2 days.
Key statistics
- BenchLM tracked 217 AI model releases in the 12 months ending 2026-09-29 — a notable model release roughly every 2 days.
- 46% of the 216 classified AI model releases BenchLM tracked in the 12 months ending 2026-09-29 were open-weight models.
- August 2026 was the busiest month for AI model launches in the last year, with 41 releases tracked by BenchLM.
- OpenAI shipped the most tracked model releases in the 12 months ending 2026-09-29 (21), ahead of Alibaba (17) per BenchLM release data.
BenchLM tracked 217 AI model releases in the 12 months ending 2026-09-29 — a notable model release roughly every 2 days.
217
August 2026 was the busiest month for AI model launches in the last year, with 41 releases tracked by BenchLM.
August 2026 (41 releases)
Releases per lab, 12 months ending 2026-09-29
| Lab | Tracked releases |
|---|---|
| OpenAI | 21 |
| Alibaba | 17 |
| 14 | |
| Anthropic | 12 |
| xAI | 9 |
| Microsoft | 9 |
| LiquidAI | 9 |
| InclusionAI | 7 |
| Tencent | 7 |
| Meta | 6 |
Methodology & sources
Counts are notable model releases tracked in BenchLM's release registry (family-level launches, not every checkpoint), over the 12 months ending 2026-09-29. Open/proprietary classification joins each release to BenchLM's model catalog.
Cite these statistics
Every number on this page is generated from BenchLM's live dataset and refreshed with each data update. Link any statistic directly using its anchor, or cite the page as:
BenchLM.ai, "LLM Statistics" (September 29, 2026), https://benchlm.ai/stats/model-releasesQuestions
How many AI models were released in the last year?
BenchLM tracked 217 notable AI model releases in the 12 months ending 2026-09-29 — roughly one every 2 days.
What share of new AI models are open-weight?
46% of the 216 classified releases BenchLM tracked over the last 12 months were open-weight models.
Which AI lab releases models fastest?
OpenAI shipped the most tracked releases in the last 12 months (21), ahead of Alibaba (17), per BenchLM's release registry.
Know when it’s worth switching models
The model to choose, the cheaper alternative, and the release we would wait on.
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