At the forefront of the excitement surrounding AI over the past few years are what experts call "foundation models." These are advanced AI systems trained on vast amounts of data that can perform a wide range of tasks. You may have heard of some popular examples like GPT-4o, Claude 3.5, Llama 3.1, or Gemini 1.5. These AI systems can write, code, create art, and chat like humans. Major tech companies are investing large sums in building the underlying infrastructure and know-how to operate these new systems.