ZOO_VS_ZEN.md

Zoo AI vs ZenLM - Project Relationship

Overview

Zoo AI and ZenLM are the same foundational technology under different brands:

• ZenLM: Collaborative multi-org project (Zoo Labs + Hanzo AI + Lux)
• Zoo AI: Zoo Labs Foundation-branded version

Why Two Brands?

ZenLM (https://github.com/zenlm)

• Purpose: Neutral collaborative brand for multi-org cooperation
• Ownership: No single organization owns it
• Contributors: Zoo Labs, Hanzo AI, Lux Industries equally
• Use Case: Research papers, academic work, cross-org projects

Zoo AI (https://github.com/zooai)

• Purpose: Zoo Labs Foundation's public-facing brand
• Ownership: Zoo Labs Foundation (501c3)
• Contributors: Zoo Labs leads, partners contribute
• Use Case: Nonprofit branding, fundraising, community building

Model Naming

ZenLM

• zenlm/zen-nano-0.6b
• zenlm/zen-eco-4b-instruct
• etc.

Zoo AI

• zooai/zoo-nano-0.6b
• zooai/zoo-eco-4b-instruct
• etc.

Same models, different namespaces.

Which to Use?

Use ZenLM when:

• Publishing research papers
• Multi-organizational collaboration
• Need neutral branding
• Academic citations

Use Zoo AI when:

• Representing Zoo Labs Foundation
• Nonprofit fundraising
• Community outreach
• Zoo Labs-specific projects

Technical Relationship

ZenLM (collaborative)
    ├── Zoo AI (Zoo Labs branded fork)
    ├── Hanzo variants (if needed)
    └── Lux variants (if needed)

All share the same:

• Base models (Qwen3)
• Training methods (GSPO)
• Architecture
• License (Apache 2.0)

HuggingFace Organizations

• huggingface.co/zenlm - Collaborative org
• huggingface.co/zooai - Zoo Labs Foundation

GitHub Organizations

• github.com/zenlm - Collaborative org
• github.com/zooai - Zoo Labs Foundation

Recommendations

1. Primary development: Use ZenLM for technical work
2. Public branding: Use Zoo AI for Zoo Labs Foundation outreach
3. Cross-publish: Push models to both organizations
4. Documentation: Reference both projects

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Both projects serve the same mission: Open AI for everyone.