US startup Poolside debuts its first open-weight model, Laguna XS.2, a 33B-A3B-parameter MoE model, and Laguna M.1, a proprietary 225B-A23B-parameter MoE model (Carl Franzen/VentureBeat)

Poolside has released Laguna XS.2, an open-weight 33B-parameter mixture-of-experts (MoE) model, and Laguna M.1, a proprietary 225B-parameter model, expanding the competitive landscape of large language models available to enterprises. This development provides IT organizations with additional options for implementing custom AI solutions while potentially reducing dependency on closed-source providers, though leaders must evaluate total cost of ownership, model governance, and integration complexity against existing vendor relationships. The availability of capable open-weight alternatives signals a maturing AI market where organizations have greater flexibility in choosing between cost-efficiency, customization, and performance trade-offs.