Llama
Meta's open-source large language model family, enabling anyone to run powerful AI locally or in production.
Definition
Llama (Large Language Model Meta AI) is Meta's family of open-weight language models, released to researchers and developers for free. Llama 2 (2023) and Llama 3 (2024) can be downloaded, modified, and deployed without API costs or usage limits.
Unlike closed models from OpenAI or Google, Llama enables organizations to run AI on their own infrastructure, fine-tune for specific needs, and maintain complete data privacy.
Why It Matters
Open-source models like Llama democratize AI access and enable use cases impossible with API-based models—complete data privacy, offline operation, unlimited usage, and deep customization.
Llama's openness has spawned an ecosystem of fine-tuned variants and tools, accelerating AI innovation industry-wide.
Examples in Practice
A healthcare company deploys Llama locally to analyze patient records with zero data leaving their servers, meeting strict HIPAA compliance requirements.
A startup fine-tunes Llama 3 on their specific domain knowledge, creating a specialized AI assistant that outperforms generic models for their use case at a fraction of the cost.