Spanish ‘soonicorn’ Multiverse Computing releases free compressed AI model
TL;DR
Spanish startup Multiverse Computing releases a free compressed AI model, HyperNova 60B, on Hugging Face, using quantum-inspired tech to reduce size and cost while maintaining performance. The company plans to open-source more models in 2026 and is raising funding, positioning itself as a sovereign AI alternative in Europe.
Key Takeaways
- •Multiverse Computing offers HyperNova 60B, a compressed AI model that is half the size of OpenAI's gpt-oss-120b, with lower memory usage and latency, available for free on Hugging Face.
- •The company uses CompactifAI, a compression technology inspired by quantum computing, to make models smaller yet nearly as potent and accurate as frontier models.
- •Multiverse plans to open-source more compressed models in 2026 to support diverse use cases and has enterprise customers like Iberdrola, Bosch, and the Bank of Canada.
- •The startup is rumored to be raising €500 million at a valuation over €1.5 billion, with ARR potentially reaching €100 million, positioning it as a European rival to companies like Mistral AI.
- •Multiverse emphasizes sovereign AI solutions, securing collaborations with regional governments in Spain and benefiting from local support, highlighting geopolitical undertones in its growth strategy.
Large language models have a problem: they are large. Multiverse Computing, a Spanish startup, is addressing this issue with compressed models that aim to close the gap between what frontier models can do and what companies can actually afford to deploy.
The secret sauce is CompactifAI, a compression technology inspired by quantum computing that the Basque company has applied to models released by OpenAI. As of today, developers can access a newer version of Multiverse’s HyperNova 60B model for free on Hugging Face. The company also plans to open source more compressed models in 2026 to support a wider range of use cases.
According to Multiverse, its models are smaller, but nearly as potent and accurate. At 32GB, HyperNova 60B is roughly half the size of the model it derives from — OpenAI’s gpt-oss-120b — while boasting lower memory usage and lower latency. The updated version, called HyperNova 60B 2602, now also better supports tool calling and agentic coding, where inference costs can be high.
One of the competitors Multiverse claims to have beaten with HyperNova 60B is Mistral Large 3, one of the models released by French decacorn Mistral AI. But beyond the technological rivalry, the two European AI companies also have a lot in common.
Like Mistral, Multiverse has expanded beyond its home country, with offices in the United States, Canada, and across Europe. Both companies also have enterprise customers. In Multiverse’s case, it names Iberdrola, Bosch, and the Bank of Canada.
And while Multiverse is not officially a unicorn yet, it is now rumored to be raising a fresh €500 million funding round at a valuation of more than €1.5 billion. In a statement shared with TechCrunch, the company confirmed that active discussions with potential investors toward a new funding round are ongoing, but added it would be premature to comment on valuation or funding size at this stage. Multiverse also declined to comment on reports that its annual recurring revenue (ARR) reached €100 million in January.
If confirmed, this would still only be a fraction of OpenAI’s $20 billion ARR; but not that far from Mistral’s, whose ARR soared to over $400 million, owing in part to growing demand for alternatives to U.S. tech. Similarly, Multiverse positions itself in its latest press release as a company that can “deliver sovereign solutions across the AI stack.”
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These geopolitical undertones recently helped Multiverse secure a collaboration with the regional government of Aragón, in northeastern Spain. The Spanish Agency for Technological Transformation (SETT) also participated in the AI startup’s $215 million Series B last year. Since its inception, Multiverse has also benefited from support from the Basque region — which could very soon count its first unicorn.