Thinking Machines introduces Inkling 2 Small
Inkling 2 Small is a 594B mixture-of-experts model, 17B active, on Tinker with closed weights. Open weights are planned after safety testing.
Official source (opens in a new tab)
Thinking Machines Lab's 5 November 2026 post introduces Inkling 2 Small, a mixture-of-experts model with 594 billion total parameters and 17 billion active. It accepts image inputs and has variable effort. The lab says it scores 31 on the Artificial Analysis Intelligence Index, above its earlier models, with gains on agentic coding, vision, knowledge work, and reasoning.
The post says the model is available now on Tinker, including Tinker Playground, for inference, fine-tuning, and sampling, with closed weights. Full weights under an Apache 2.0 license are intended next week, after external safety testing and red-teaming. Checkpoints become downloadable with that weight release.
Who it's for: a developer using Tinker who wants to try or fine-tune Inkling 2 Small before the weights are public.
Fits: Best for Vibe Coding stays Cursor. Inkling 2 Small is a model you call or fine-tune on Tinker, not an editor. Best for Writing stays Claude. The coding guide is unchanged. No list on this site adds it. The verdict is unchanged.