PrismML Releases Ternary Bonsai 2 27B: 5.9 GB Apache 2.0 Model at 98.2% of Qwen3.8 27B Performance

PrismML has released Ternary Bonsai 2 27B, an Apache 2.0 licensed model that compresses a 27B parameter model down to just 5.9 GB using ternary quantization while retaining 98.2% of Qwen3.8 27B's benchmark performance. Ternary quantization represents weights as -1, 0, or +1, enabling dramatically smaller model footprints without the quality degradation typically seen at aggressive quantization levels. For developers targeting edge deployment, local inference on laptops, or cost-sensitive cloud inference, a permissively licensed 5.9 GB model at near-full performance is a meaningful engineering option. The Apache 2.0 license removes the friction of restrictive terms for commercial applications, making this a strong candidate for teams that have been waiting for a deployable, high-quality sub-6GB model.