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

Kimi K2.6 vs Grok 4.20 Beta

Moonshot AI
Kimi K2.6
xAI
Grok 4.20 Beta
Overview
CompanyMoonshot AIxAI
Release dateApr 21 2026Feb 17 2026
Model type
Open sourceYesNo
Specifications
Parameters
1T
Context window
256k
Benchmarks
Coding
SWE-Bench Verified
80.2%
Science
GPQA Diamond
90.5%
Timeline
Release gapGrok 4.20 Beta shipped 63 days before Kimi K2.6

Which is better: Kimi K2.6 or Grok 4.20 Beta?

Kimi K2.6 and Grok 4.20 Beta don't publish scores on any of the same benchmarks, so there's no direct head-to-head comparison. Grok 4.20 Beta shipped 63 days before Kimi K2.6, so benchmark comparisons should account for the intervening progress.

Kimi K2.6 is an open-source / open-weight model; Grok 4.20 Beta is proprietary.

Direct benchmark comparisons are unavailable — Kimi K2.6 and Grok 4.20 Beta don't publish scores on any of the same benchmarks.

Frequently asked questions

When was Kimi K2.6 released?
Kimi K2.6 was released by Moonshot AI on Apr 21 2026.
When was Grok 4.20 Beta released?
Grok 4.20 Beta was released by xAI on Feb 17 2026.
Is Kimi K2.6 or Grok 4.20 Beta open source?
Kimi K2.6 is an open-source / open-weight model released by Moonshot AI. Grok 4.20 Beta is a proprietary model released by xAI.

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