Is AI moving beyond traditional turn-based chats? Today, Thinking Machines, an AI startup founded by ex-OpenAI leaders Mira Murati and John Schulman, previewed ‘interaction models’ — a new AI system designed for near-real-time multimodal interaction. Unlike current models that wait for users to finish speaking or typing before responding, these models process short chunks of input and output simultaneously in a full-duplex manner. This technology enables AI to listen, speak, and even react visually in real time, creating a more natural conversational experience. The system uses a dual-model approach: an Interaction Model for managing dialogue, and a Background Model for more complex tasks like web browsing or sustained reasoning. Preliminary benchmarks show significant improvements in responsiveness and interactive quality compared to other leading AI models. Though not yet publicly released, these models hold promise for enterprises by enabling real-time monitoring, safety alerts, live translations, and time-aware operations previously not feasible. Founded in 2025, Thinking Machines has quickly established itself with large funding and partnerships with Nvidia and Google Cloud, continuing to attract top talent and innovate on AI interactivity.
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