A model whose learned weights are openly published for anyone to download and run.
Open weights is not a free sample at the mall. It is the whole cake mix box in your bag.
You can run the model on your own computer. You can also fine-tune it or study it. Companies use it for private AI setups.
Open-source-model
Open weights is not the same as an open-source model.
Local-LLM
A Local-LLM usually needs downloadable weights first.
Fine-tuning
Fine-tuning is easier when you have the model weights.
On-premise AI
Open weights makes on-premise AI easier to deploy.