Microsoft Research Launches Open-Source 1-Bit Language Model bitnet.cpp for 100B Parameter AI with 6x Speed and 82% Energy Savings on CPUs

Microsoft Research has introduced '1-bit,' a compact language model designed to operate efficiently on standard CPUs. The technology, also referred to as BitNet b1.58 2B4T, is an open-source framework called bitnet.cpp that enables fast inference of large language models with up to 100 billion parameters on local x86 CPU devices. This approach offers up to six times faster processing speeds and reduces energy consumption by 82% compared to traditional methods. Microsoft’s innovation positions its lightweight AI model as a competitive alternative to existing solutions like DeepSeek and OpenAI, emphasizing accessibility and efficiency without requiring specialized hardware.