AI Model Release Tracker - Timeline of Major AI Models from 2022-2026

Mistral Small vs Kimi K2 Thinking

Mistral
Mistral Small
Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 Thinking
Overview
CompanyMistralMoonshot AI
Release dateFeb 26 2024Nov 6 2025
AccessProprietaryOpen Weight
Specifications
Parameters
1T
Context window
256k
Benchmarks
Coding
SWE-Bench Verified
71.3%
Timeline
Release gapMistral Small shipped 619 days before Kimi K2 Thinking

Which is better: Mistral Small or Kimi K2 Thinking?

Mistral Small and Kimi K2 Thinking don't publish scores on any of the same benchmarks, so there's no direct head-to-head comparison. Mistral Small shipped 619 days before Kimi K2 Thinking, so benchmark comparisons should account for the intervening progress.

Mistral Small is proprietary, while Kimi K2 Thinking is open weight.

Direct benchmark comparisons are unavailable — Mistral Small and Kimi K2 Thinking don't publish scores on any of the same benchmarks.

Frequently asked questions

Mistral Small was released by Mistral on Feb 26 2024.

Kimi K2 Thinking was released by Moonshot AI on Nov 6 2025.

Mistral Small is a proprietary model released by Mistral. Kimi K2 Thinking is an open weight model released by Moonshot AI.

Other comparisons