On the Artificial Analysis platform, where the quality of generative models for image creation is compared, a mysterious AI called “red_panda” has taken the lead. The model has surpassed such well-known solutions as Midjourney, Black Forest Labs, and OpenAI, and is ahead of its closest competitor — Flux1.1 Pro from Black Forest Labs — by about 40 points according to the Elo system, which is used to assess the relative level of models.
Artificial Analysis, similar in principle to Chatbot Arena, uses a crowdsourcing approach: models are tested through user ratings. Two models receive the same prompt for image creation, and users choose which picture better matches the request.
In addition to leading in quality, “red_panda” also stands out for its speed — it needs only seven seconds to generate an image, which is several orders of magnitude faster than DALL-E 3 from OpenAI, which takes over 100 times longer to create an image.
The model raises many questions. Its name hints at a Chinese origin, and users are actively discussing which tech giant it might belong to. The issue of openness is also being raised — will red_panda be available to the public?
