Was ist die Swiss AI Initiative?

Die Swiss AI Initiative ist eine nationale Forschungsinitiative, lanciert von der ETH Zürich und der EPFL. Gemeinsam mit dem Supercomputing-Zentrum CSCS und einem breiten Forschungsnetzwerk schafft sie offene Infrastruktur, Wissen und KI-Modelle, auf denen andere weiterbauen können.

Apertus ist das vollständig offene, mehrsprachige Sprachmodell der Swiss AI Initiative. Gewichte, Trainingsdaten, Code, Methoden und Alignment-Prinzipien sind dokumentiert und zugänglich. Die erste Version erschien im September 2025 in den Grössen 8 und 70 Milliarden Parameter.

Wo kann ich Apertus ausprobieren?

Einstieg und Dokumentation bietet die offizielle Seite apertus-ai.org, die Modelle liegen auf Hugging Face. Produktiv läuft Apertus unter anderem bei mono.chat, Safe Swiss Cloud und chat.publicai.co. Einen Überblick gibt der swissAI-Vergleich der Schweizer KI-Chats.

Darf ich Apertus geschäftlich nutzen?

Ja. Apertus steht unter der Lizenz Apache 2.0. Sie erlaubt, das Modell ohne Rückfrage geschäftlich zu nutzen, zu verändern und weiterzugeben.

Ist swissAI Teil der Swiss AI Initiative?

Nein. swissAI ist ein unabhängiger, nicht gewinnorientierter Verband und organisatorisch nicht Teil der Swiss AI Initiative. swissAI unterstützt ihre Ziele mit Community, Wissenstransfer, Vernetzung und Anwendungen. Dr. Imanol Schlag, Co-Lead von Apertus, gehört dem Advisory Board von swissAI an; das begründet keine institutionelle Partnerschaft mit der ETH Zürich.

Research × Community

We support the Swiss AI Initiative.

The Swiss AI Initiative promotes open and responsible AI research in Switzerland. swissAI connects this work with businesses, education, society, and an active community.

Here's How We Actively Help Get to Know Apertus

Two separate organizations, one important shared goal. swissAI is an independent, nonprofit association and is not part of the Swiss AI Initiative from an organizational standpoint. We support its goals out of conviction.

An open foundation for Switzerland's AI future.

The Swiss AI Initiative was launched by ETH Zurich and EPFL. Together with the CSCS and a broad research network, it is creating public infrastructure, knowledge, and models that others can build upon.

Open-Access Research

The initiative brings together research on foundation models, security, applications, and education.

Research Projects

Swiss Computing Power

The Alps supercomputer at CSCS enables research on a scale that individual teams cannot achieve.

Compute Grants

Open Science

Models, software, methods, and data are made available as a transparent foundation for further innovation.

Publications

Application in Practice

Startups, SMEs, and public institutions should not only be able to observe open AI, but also to use it.

Industry Partnerships

Source and current details: Official website of the Swiss AI Initiative

OPEN WEIGHTSAPERTVS

OPEN DATAOPEN CODEOPEN SCIENCE

Swiss Open Source LLM

Apertus brings sovereignty to life.

Apertus is the Swiss AI Initiative’s fully open, multilingual language model. Weights, training data, code, methods, and alignment principles are documented and accessible. This creates a verifiable foundation for research, business, and public applications.

OpenTransparent, customizable, and reusable
MultilingualPromoting linguistic diversity rather than a purely English perspective
Flexible to UseWith freedom of choice in operation, hosting, and integration

Try Apertus Models & Documentation

swissAI Advisory BoardDr. Imanol Schlag

ETH AI Center, Research Scientist & Apertus Lead

The Personal Bridge

Direct collaboration between researchers and the association.

Dr. Imanol Schlag is a co-leader of Apertus and serves on the swissAI Advisory Board. His perspective helps us provide a well-founded technical assessment of open Swiss AI and bring research, the community, and practical applications closer together.

His advisory role is intended to facilitate professional exchange. It does not establish an institutional partnership between ETH Zurich and swissAI.

For us, support means taking action.

A link alone does not create knowledge transfer. swissAI leverages its role as a bridge between business, education, research, and society to ensure that open Swiss AI is understood, tested, and further developed.

Building Reach

We highlight releases, compute calls, research, and events through our community and knowledge channels.

Translating Knowledge

We classify open models, digital sovereignty, and responsible use in a practical context.

Empowering SMEs

We feature Apertus in Friday Weeklies, Tech Circles, and discussions with Swiss companies.

Consolidate feedback

We gather questions and experiences from the worlds of business, education, and society, and bring them into the discussion.

Connecting People

We connect research, hosting, integration, public agencies, and users to address specific needs.

Show Applications

We highlight Swiss use cases and demonstrate where open AI is already delivering real benefits.

From supercomputers to a Swiss use case.

The Landscape illustrates how research, infrastructure, models, providers, and applications interact. Apertus is not operating in isolation but is part of a Swiss value chain.

ComputeCSCS · Alps

ResearchETH · EPFL

ModelApertus

TransferProvider · Builder

ImpactSMEs · Society

swissAI connects the stakeholders along this chain and provides guidance for organizations that want to not only discuss sovereign AI but also implement it. The AI Models overview shows how Apertus compares to other open models and which ones run on which devices. Those looking for a ready-made chat bot instead of an API can find providers under Swiss AI Chats.

Discover the Landscape

Open Swiss AI needs more than just research.

It needs people who test, build, ask questions, and share their experiences. Choose the path that's right for you.

Try Apertus

Start with the official models, providers, and technical guides.

To the official launch

Share Your Experience

Share your use case, questions, or feedback with our community.

Contact swissAI

Get Involved

Connect with people from the fields of practice and research through Weeklies and Circles.

Get to Know the Community

Making a Difference Together

Research lays the foundation. The community puts it into practice.

Swiss AI Initiative Get Involved with swissAI

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the Swiss AI Initiative?

The Swiss AI Initiative is a national research initiative launched by ETH Zurich and EPFL. Together with the CSCS supercomputing center and a broad research network, it creates open infrastructure, knowledge, and AI models that others can build upon.

What is Apertus?

Apertus is the Swiss AI Initiative’s fully open-source, multilingual language model. Weights, training data, code, methods, and alignment principles are documented and accessible. The first version was released in September 2025 in sizes of 8 and 70 billion parameters.

Where can I try out Apertus?

The official website, apertus-ai.org, provides an introduction and documentation; the models are available on Hugging Face. Apertus is currently in production at mono.chat, Safe Swiss Cloud, and chat.publicai.co, among others. The swissAI comparison of Swiss AI chatbots provides an overview.

Can I use Apertus for business purposes?

Yes. Apertus is licensed under the Apache 2.0 License. This license allows you to use, modify, and distribute the model for commercial purposes without seeking permission.

Is swissAI part of the Swiss AI Initiative?

No. swissAI is an independent, nonprofit association and is not organizationally part of the Swiss AI Initiative. swissAI supports the Initiative’s goals through community engagement, knowledge transfer, networking, and applications. Dr. Imanol Schlag, co-lead of Apertus, serves on the swissAI Advisory Board; this does not constitute an institutional partnership with ETH Zurich.