Lecture Notes: Quazar Alpha - A New Foundation Model

Introduction

• Open Router has introduced a stealth model named Quazar Alpha.
• Quazar Alpha is a pre-release of an upcoming long-context Foundation model.
• The specific partnering lab is not disclosed, could potentially be GPT-5, Claude 4, or Gemini 3.
• Offers a 1 million token context length.
• Optimized specifically for coding and general-purpose use.
• Available for free through the Open Router API.

Using Quazar Alpha

• Accessible via a chat room on Open Router or through the API.
• To use via API: Sign in on Open Router, go to keys, create an API key.

Benchmarking and Testing

• Quazar Alpha has preliminary benchmarks despite its new release.
• Comparable to QWQ 03 Mini and Deep Seek R1, slightly higher than Claude 3.7 Sonet.
• Excels in coding-specific tests, especially in Python and Bash.

Performance Observations

• Quazar Alpha is notably faster than Deep Seek R1 and QWQ 03 Mini.
• It's a smaller LLM, which contributes to its speed.
• Encountered errors with excessively long prompts (e.g., Lang graph documentation).

Coding and Agent Building

• Tested using Archon: a free and open-source AI agent builder.
• Faster than Claude 3.7 Sonet, with comparable code quality.
• Used to create an AI agent army capable of interacting with various services (e.g., Brave, Airtable).

Speed and Efficiency

• Quazar Alpha exhibited impressive speed in creating a chat application in under 10 seconds.
• Built a UI from a landing page image quickly and efficiently in Bolt.DIY.

Personal Impressions

• The model is fast, powerful, and may offer more affordable usage.
• Excitement about its potential impact on AI speed and efficiency without sacrificing power.
• Speculation about the model's release, provider, and pricing.

Conclusion

• Quazar Alpha presents a promising step forward in LLM development with its speed and coding capabilities.
• Encouragement to test the model and share experiences and speculations about its origin and potential.