❯ MiniMax releases H3 video model with 2K resolution and native stereo sound, to open-source weights

OPEN SOURCEMiniMax has released its video generation model H3, capable of generating clips of up to 15 seconds, 2K resolution, with native stereo sound, and plans to release the weights within days.

ALL-MODAL INPUTH3 accepts four input modalities—text, image, video, and audio—and supports video editing, as well as transferring motion from one video to another. Pricing is aimed at commercial use and is said to be more than two-thirds cheaper than comparable products, while also running on homegrown chips. Founded in 2022, MiniMax listed in Hong Kong in January this year, becoming the second large-model company to go public there after Zhipu. Video generation has long been a field dominated by closed-source models; Chinese companies are now bringing the open-source playbook into the arena.

OPEN SOURCE LIMITSOpen-sourcing video models is harder than language models due to inference cost—the weights are free, but the compute is still on you. The VRAM and time consumed by a 2K clip with audio are not something ordinary teams can casually shoulder. The first true beneficiaries are small and mid-size studios with stable GPU supply, which for the first time can fold repetitive work like title sequences and transitions into their own pipelines, without paying per second for API calls. As for closed-source video vendors, their pricing room has been compressed to the line above free weights.

▪ SIGNALFor video, open source has caught up to the release week for the first time.