Models

SLM (Small Language Model)

A small, fast model — sub-10B parameters typically — for cheap, low-stakes tasks.

Small language models (Haiku, Nano, Flash, Phi, Llama 3.2 Small) handle classification, routing, lightweight extraction, and batched scoring at a fraction of frontier cost and latency. The right pick for the long tail of an application that does not need top-tier reasoning. A model router that delegates appropriately to SLMs is often the single largest cost optimization in a mature application.

Related terms

Model routing
Mid-tier model

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