EXAONE 4.0: Revolutionary Hybrid AI Model That Outperforms Global Giants

EXAONE 4.0 is Korea’s first hybrid AI model that integrates two distinct operating modes within a single system. Unlike traditional AI models that work in just one way, EXAONE 4.0 can switch between a “Non-Reasoning” mode for quick, everyday tasks and a “Reasoning” mode for complex problem-solving that requires deep thinking.

The model comes in two sizes: a powerful 32-billion parameter version optimized for high performance, and a compact 1.2-billion parameter version designed for on-device applications like smartphones, home appliances, and robots. Both versions support English, Korean, and Spanish languages.

EXAONE 4.0 operates through a unified architecture that seamlessly integrates two processing modes within a single model:

• Smart Mode Selection: The model automatically chooses between Non-Reasoning mode (for quick responses to simple queries) and Reasoning mode (for complex problems requiring deep analysis) based on your request’s complexity.
• Unified Training: Both modes are trained together using a 1.5:1 token ratio, allowing seamless switching without performance loss.
• Efficient Processing: Uses hybrid attention (3:1 local-to-global ratio) and sliding window attention with 4K windows to handle up to 128K tokens while maintaining computational efficiency.
• Quality Control: Applies advanced QK-Reorder-LN normalization and BBPE tokenization optimized for Korean/English understanding to ensure stable, high-quality outputs.

Think of EXAONE 4.0 like having two different thinking styles in one brain. The Non-Reasoning mode works like quick intuitive responses – perfect for answering straightforward questions, having conversations, or handling routine tasks where speed matters.

The Reasoning mode, on the other hand, is like careful, deliberate thinking. When faced with complex math problems, coding challenges, or medical questions, it takes time to work through multiple steps, double-check its logic, and provide thoroughly reasoned answers.

This dual-mode approach is powered by a hybrid attention mechanism that combines local and global attention in a 3:1 ratio, allowing the model to efficiently process long contexts up to 128,000 tokens while maintaining computational efficiency.

Advanced Training Pipeline: Employs a multi-stage training methodology including large-scale and code/tool Supervised Fine-Tuning (SFT), followed by advanced Reasoning Reinforcement Learning (RL), and two stages of Preference Learning to ensure high-quality, correct, and consistent outputs.

Sliding Window Attention with 4K Window Size: Unlike many models that use chunked attention, EXAONE 4.0 employs sliding window attention with a 4K window size, providing better theoretical stability and wider support in open-source frameworks.

Efficient Resource Usage: Despite being smaller than many competitors, EXAONE 4.0 achieves comparable or superior performance. The 32B model performs similarly to Qwen3’s 235B model and DeepSeek R1’s 600B model in knowledge tests, while using significantly fewer computational resources.

Agentic Tool Use Capabilities: Includes built-in support for agentic tool use, allowing it to integrate with external tools and applications. This makes it suitable for developing AI agents that can interact with various software systems and perform complex, multi-step tasks.

Extended Context Understanding: With support for up to 128,000 tokens (about 96,000 words), EXAONE 4.0 can process and understand extremely long documents, making it ideal for tasks like document analysis, legal review, and comprehensive research.

EXAONE 4.0 is an excellent choice if you need:

• Versatile AI capabilities that can handle both quick responses and complex reasoning
• Cost-effective solution compared to larger commercial models
• Multilingual support for English, Korean, and Spanish
• Professional-grade expertise in specialized domains
• On-device AI capabilities for privacy-sensitive applications

However, it might not be the best fit if you need the absolute cutting-edge performance in every category or require support for languages beyond English, Korean, and Spanish.

EXAONE 4.0 marks a pivotal moment in AI development, proving that innovation and efficiency can triumph over sheer size. By successfully combining two distinct AI modes in one model, LG AI Research has created something that’s both practically useful and technically impressive.

Whether you’re a developer looking for a cost-effective AI solution, a researcher interested in hybrid AI architectures, or a business seeking to integrate advanced AI capabilities, EXAONE 4.0 offers a compelling combination of performance, efficiency, and versatility that’s worth serious consideration.

1. Connect to your device and select LLM Models from the sidebar.

2. Select vLLM from the model selector menu (Box1), choose your desired model, and click the Run symbol (Box2).

3. Click Run to start the model deployment.

4. Select the target device where the LLM will run.

5. Choose the container version (if you have no idea select the latest).

6. Ensure the correct model is selected in Box 1.

7. Set Hugging Face token in Box 1 if required by the model.

8. Click Save Environment to apply the settings.

Once these steps are completed, the model will run automatically, and you can access it through the assigned port.