
Imagine trying to teach a toddler what a unicorn is. A good place to start might be by showing the child images of the creature and describing its unique features.
Now imagine trying to teach an artificially intelligent machine what a unicorn is. Where would one even begin?
Pretrained AI models offer a solution.
A pretrained AI model is a deep learning model - an expression of a brain-like neural algorithm that finds patterns or makes predictions based on data - that's trained on large datasets to accomplish a specific task. It can be used as is or further fine-tuned to fit an application's specific needs.
Why Are Pretrained AI Models Used? Instead of building an AI model from scratch, developers can use pretrained models and customize them to meet their requirements.
To build an AI application, developers first need an AI model that can accomplish a particular task, whether that's identifying a mythical horse, detecting a safety hazard for an autonomous vehicle or diagnosing a cancer based on medical imaging. That model needs a lot of representative data to learn from.
This learning process entails going through several layers of incoming data and emphasizing goals-relevant characteristics at each layer.
To create a model that can recognize a unicorn, for example, one might first feed it images of unicorns, horses, cats, tigers and other animals. This is the incoming data.
Then, layers of representative data traits are constructed, beginning with the simple - like lines and colors - and advancing to complex structural features. These characteristics are assigned varying degrees of relevance by calculating probabilities.
As opposed to a cat or tiger, for example, the more like a horse a creature appears, the greater the likelihood that it is a unicorn. Such probabilistic values are stored at each neural network layer in the AI model, and as layers are added, its understanding of the representation improves.
To create such a model from scratch, developers require enormous datasets, often with billions of rows of data. These can be pricey and challenging to obtain, but compromising on data can lead to poor performance of the model.
Precomputed probabilistic representations - known as weights - save time, money and effort. A pretrained model is already built and trained with these weights.
Using a high-quality pretrained model with a large number of accurate representative weights leads to higher chances of success for AI deployment. Weights can be modified, and more data can be added to the model to further customize or fine-tune it.
Developers building on pretrained models can create AI applications faster, without having to worry about handling mountains of input data or computing probabilities for dense layers.
In other words, using a pretrained AI model is like getting a dress or a shirt and then tailoring it to fit your needs, rather than starting with fabric, thread and needle.
Pretrained AI models are often used for transfer learning and can be based on several model architecture types. One popular architecture type is the transformer model, a neural network that learns context and meaning by tracking relationships in sequential data.
According to Alfredo Ramos, senior vice president of platform at AI company Clarifai - a Premier partner in the NVIDIA Inception program for startups - pretrained models can cut AI application development time by up to a year and lead to cost savings of hundreds of thousands of dollars.
How Are Pretrained Models Advancing AI? Since pretrained models simplify and quicken AI development, many developers and companies use them to accelerate various AI use cases.
Top areas in which pretrained models are advancing AI include:
Natural language processing. Pretrained models are used for translation, chatbots and other natural language processing applications. Large language models, often based on the transformer model architecture, are an extension of pretrained models. One example of a pretrained LLM is NVIDIA NeMo Megatron, one of the world's largest AI models.
Speech AI. Pretrained models can help speech AI applications plug and play across different languages. Use cases include call center automation, AI assistants and voice-recognition technologies.
Computer vision. Like in the unicorn example above, pretrained models can help AI quickly recognize creatures - or objects, places and people. In this way, pretrained models accelerate computer vision, giving applications human-like vision capabilities across sports, smart cities and more.
Healthcare. For healthcare applications, pretrained AI models like MegaMolBART - part of the NVIDIA BioNeMo service and framework - can understand the language of chemistry and learn the relationships between atoms in real-world molecules, giving the scientific community a powerful tool for faster drug discovery.
Cybersecurity. Pretrained models provide a starting point to implement AI-based cybersecurity solutions and extend the capabilities of human security analysts to detect threats faster. Examples include digital fingerprinting of humans and machines, and detection of anomalies, sensitive information and phishing.
Art and creative workflows. Bolstering the recent wave of AI art, pretrained models can help accelerate creative workflows through tools like GauGAN and NVIDIA Canvas.
Pretrained AI models can be applied across industries beyond these, as their customization and fine-tuning can lead to infinite possibilities for use cases.
Where to Find Pretrained AI Models Companies like Google, Meta, Microsoft and NVIDIA are inventing cutting-edge model architectures and frameworks to build AI models.
These are sometimes released on model hubs or as open source, enabling developers to fine-tune pretrained AI models, improve their accuracy and expand model repositories.
NVIDIA NGC
North America Stories
14/07/2025
UK launch set for September, following on from recent US and Germany releases
London - UK, July 14, 2025 - Nielsen, a global leader in audience measurement, da...
14/07/2025
SHENZHEN, China Telycam has added control options for its portfolio of pan-tilt-zoom (PTZ) cameras with a new plug-in for Elgato's Stream Deck family of con...
14/07/2025
The awards are open to IBC2025 show exhibitors and offer a valuable platform for companies to raise awareness for the new products and solutions they will be la...
14/07/2025
Clear-Com is excited to announce a significant expansion of the award-winning Arcadia Central Station with new software updates. Together, these releases dram...
14/07/2025
Grass Valley and Daktronics today announced a strategic technology partnership that unites Grass Valley's live production expertise with Daktronics' lea...
14/07/2025
Cloud playout solutions provider, Veset, and swXtch.io, provider of cloud-based multicast and reliable networking solutions, are partnering to deliver multicast...
14/07/2025
Tintri , a DDN subsidiary and leader in AI-powered data management solutions, today announces a game-changing and award-winning refresh to its global Partner P...
14/07/2025
HighField AI, the broadcast industry's first agentic and multimodal AI platform for automating graphics production, is now commercially available. Developed...
14/07/2025
Encompass Digital Media has today announced that it has been delivering a complex global services project for DAZN, the world s leading sports entertainment pla...
14/07/2025
MASV (massive.io), the fastest, most reliable large file transfer platform trusted by over 10,000 global organizations, announced today it will showcase its nex...
14/07/2025
Calrec is introducing a series of usability, customisation and system enhancements across the entire range of Argo consoles at IBC 2025, on Stand 8.C47. Look ou...
14/07/2025
Fincons Group, IT business consultancy and systems integrator company with more than 40 years of experience in the market, is proud to announce a new engagement...
14/07/2025
Stand 5.F45, IBC2025, Amsterdam, 12 15 September 2025 Intinor returns to IBC to present the latest updates to its Direkt series. A key development on show is ...
13/07/2025
Live From MLB All-Star 2025: MLB Network Marks Five Straight Years of Onsite MLB...
12/07/2025
Ryan Coogler accepting the 2013 Vanguard Award. Photo by Alberto E. Rodriguez.
Editor's Note: In honor of Fruitvale Station s 12th anniversary, we're d...
12/07/2025
Key Code Education, the professional training division of Key Code Media, proudly announces a major update to its Adobe Premiere Pro Engineering and Advanced Op...
12/07/2025
Key Code Education, a leader in instructor-led post production training for over...
12/07/2025
As the death toll continues to mount, with at least 120 killed and more than 170 people still missing on July 10 from devastating Texas floods, a number of broa...
12/07/2025
EL SEGUNDO, Calif., and MIAMI -DirecTV and TelevisaUnivision have signed a deal that will make the ad-supported premium subscription tier of ViX, ViX Premium wi...
11/07/2025
PARK CITY, UTAH, July 11, 2025 - The nonprofit Sundance Institute announced today the 11 producers chosen for its annual Producers Labs, returning to Ucross Fou...
11/07/2025
L3Harris Technologies President of Intelligence, Surveillance and Reconnaissance Jason Lambert and General Manager of L3Harris Waco facility Sean Ling held a ce...
11/07/2025
ARLINGTON, Va. WETA, the flagship public media station in the national capital area, has launched WETA+, a new streaming service tailored for the local Washingt...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission has emerged as one of the central players in the broadcast TV landscape in 2025, with its deregulatory policies sparking h...
11/07/2025
Calrec will introduce usability, customization and system enhancements across its entire range of Argo consoles during IBC2025, Sept. 12-15, at the RAI Amsterda...
11/07/2025
LONDON Encompass Digital Media said it will support live and on-demand viewing of the 2025 FIFA Club World Cup across multiple global regions for sports enterta...
11/07/2025
Two-thirds of broadcast engineers reaped the benefits of a pay raise within the last year....
11/07/2025
CARY, N.C. SmallHD has launched the Quantum 27, a new 26.5-inch Quantum-Dot OLED monitor designed to deliver postproduction image quality in a compact, set-frie...
11/07/2025
The Federal Communications Commission's Enforcement Bureau and Tegna have entered into a consent decree that will settle an investigation into the accidenta...
11/07/2025
WASHINGTON Following news in early July that Paramount had settled President Donald Trump's lawsuit, Sens. Edward J. Markey (D-Mass.) and Ben Ray Luj n (D-N...
11/07/2025
Model/Actriz Performs Lead Single Cinderella on The Late Show with Stephen Colbe...
11/07/2025
Behind the Mic: Amazon Prime Preps for First Season of NBA Action; MSG Networks ...
11/07/2025
SVG New Sponsor Spotlight: Suite Studios' Craig Hering on Adapting to Client...
11/07/2025
2025 SVG Content Management Forum Breaks Down AI's Impact, Continued Transit...
11/07/2025
A Journey HOME: University of Nebraska's HuskerVision Goes IP Leaders from the HuskerVision and Lawo share their IP learnings By SVG Staff
Friday, July 1...
11/07/2025
CMSI, Remote Picture Labs, Ace ESPN's Cloud-Based Editing Efforts for Wimble...
11/07/2025
Netflix Enters the Live-Boxing-Production Ring for Round 2 With Historic Taylor-...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Too Hot to Handle: Italy Is Coming on July 18 Only on Netflix
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalItaly
Link copied to clipboard
July 11, 20...
11/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Will Release Death Inc. Seasons 1, 2 and 3
Entertainment
11 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard
Season 1
Season 2
Se...
11/07/2025
Ceramics - the humble mix of earth, fire and artistry - have been part of a global conversation for millennia.
From Tang Dynasty trade routes to Renaissance pa...
10/07/2025
NEW YORK - July 10, 2025 - Nielsen, the global leader in audience measurement, data and analytics, today announced that it appointed Richard Pacheco as head of ...
10/07/2025
Local newscasts don't exist in a vacuum. News directors and station management constantly evaluate what's working, what isn't and perhaps most impor...
10/07/2025
Lawo has announced that Stuttgart Media University (Hochschule der Medien, HdM) has comprehensively modernized its central recording studio after selecting an I...
10/07/2025
The Society of Motion Picture and Television Engineers (SMPTE) has opened early-bird registration for the Media Technology Summit, which will take place in a ne...
10/07/2025
NASHVILLE, Tenn. TNDV Television has launched Aspiration 35, a new version of its 40-foot Aspiration truck reimagined for cinematic multicamera productions....
10/07/2025
BURBANK, Calif. Key Code Education, a provider of instructor-led postproduction training, is growing its curriculum with new programs for beginner and intermedi...
10/07/2025
HACKENSACK, N.J. Actus Digital will demonstrate how broadcasters can transform compliance monitoring from a necessary expense into a strategic revenue driver at...
10/07/2025
The Federal Register has published a summary of the Federal Communications Commission's Public Notice seeking comments on its ownership rules that lists a d...
10/07/2025
Back to All News
Netflix Presents the Official Trailer for SuperestarPlay Video
Play Video
Entertainment
10 July 2025
GlobalSpain
Link copied to clipboard...
10/07/2025
In the race to understand our planet's changing climate, speed and accuracy are everything. But today's most widely used climate simulators often strugg...
10/07/2025
As one of the world's largest emerging markets, Indonesia is making strides toward its Golden 2045 Vision - an initiative tapping digital technologies and...