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

Kimi K2 Thinking vs GPT-4.1 nano

Moonshot AI
Kimi K2 Thinking
OpenAI
GPT-4.1 nano
Overview
CompanyMoonshot AIOpenAI
Release dateNov 6 2025Apr 14 2025
AccessOpen WeightProprietary
Specifications
Parameters
1T
Context window
256k
1M
Benchmarks
Coding
SWE-Bench Verified
71.3%
Timeline
Release gapGPT-4.1 nano shipped 206 days before Kimi K2 Thinking

Which is better: Kimi K2 Thinking or GPT-4.1 nano?

Kimi K2 Thinking and GPT-4.1 nano don't publish scores on any of the same benchmarks, so there's no direct head-to-head comparison. GPT-4.1 nano shipped 206 days before Kimi K2 Thinking, so benchmark comparisons should account for the intervening progress.

Context windows are 256k (Kimi K2 Thinking) vs 1M (GPT-4.1 nano). Kimi K2 Thinking is open weight, while GPT-4.1 nano is proprietary.

Direct benchmark comparisons are unavailable — Kimi K2 Thinking and GPT-4.1 nano don't publish scores on any of the same benchmarks.

Frequently asked questions

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

GPT-4.1 nano was released by OpenAI on Apr 14 2025.

Kimi K2 Thinking has a 256k context window; GPT-4.1 nano has 1M.

Kimi K2 Thinking is an open weight model released by Moonshot AI. GPT-4.1 nano is a proprietary model released by OpenAI.

Other comparisons