Large language models have one problem: they are large. Multiverse Computinga Spanish startup, tackles 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 from the Basque company applied to models released by OpenAI. Starting today, developers can access a newer version of Multiverse’s HyperNova 60B model for free on Hugging Face. The company also plans to create more compressed open source models in 2026 to support a wider range of use cases.
According to Multiverse, its models are smaller, but almost as powerful and accurate. At 32GB, the HyperNova 60B is roughly half the size of its predecessor — OpenAI’s gpt-oss-120b — while boasting lower memory usage and lower latency. The updated version, called HyperNova 60B 2602now also better supports tool calling and agent coding, where inference costs can be high.
One of the competitors that Multiverse claims to have beaten with the HyperNova 60B is the Mistral Large 3, one of the models released by French decacorn Mistral AI. But beyond the technological competition, 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 corporate clients. In Multiverse’s case, he names Iberdrola, Bosch and Bank of Canada.
And while the Multiverse isn’t officially a unicorn yet, it is now is rumored to be raising a new funding round of €500 million at a valuation of more than 1.5 billion euros. In a statement shared with TechCrunch, the company confirmed that active discussions with potential investors for a new round of funding are underway, but added that it would be premature to comment on the valuation or size of the funding at this stage. Multiverse also declined to comment on reports that its annual recurring revenue (ARR) hit €100 million in January.
If confirmed, that would still only be a fraction of it OpenAI’s $20 billion ARR; but not so far from the Mistral, whose ARR exceeded $400 millionin part due to growing demand for alternatives to US technology. Similarly, the Multiverse is positioned in her latest press release as a company that can “provide leading solutions across the AI stack.”
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These geopolitical overtones have recently helped the Multiverse secure itself in collaboration with the regional government of Aragonin northeastern Spain. The Spanish Agency for Technological Transformation (SETT) also participated in the $215 million Series B AI startup last year. Since its inceptionMultiverse has also benefited from support from the Basque region — which could very soon count its first unicorn.
