---
name: inference-release-notes
title: Release notes for Red Hat AI Inference
description: Use the release notes to learn about the latest changes to the documentation that are grouped by month.
last-updated: 2026-10-30
---

> ## Documentation Index
> The table of contents for this documentation set is at https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/inference?format=markdown
> The index for all IBM Cloud docs is at: https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/llms.txt
> Use these files to discover more information as needed.

# Release notes for Red Hat AI Inference
{: #release-notes}

Use the release notes to learn about the latest changes to the documentation that are grouped by month.
{: shortdesc}

Looking for IBM Cloud status, platform announcements, security bulletins, or maintenance notifications? See [IBM Cloud status](https://cloud.ibm.com/status?selected=status).
{: tip}

## October 2026
{: #oct26}

### 05 October 2026
{: #05oct26}
{: release-note}

Private endpoints with virtual private endpoint gateways
:   You can now connect to Red Hat AI Inference from your VPC over the IBM Cloud private network by using a virtual private endpoint (VPE) gateway. The private endpoint is available in the Washington DC (`us-east`) region and uses the same API and authentication as the public endpoint. For more information, see [Using virtual private endpoints for VPC to privately connect to Red Hat AI Inference](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/inference?topic=inference-vpe-connection&format=markdown).

Create embeddings with Red Hat AI Inference
:   You can now use Red Hat AI Inference to generate text embeddings. Embeddings convert text into numerical vectors that capture semantic meaning, enabling semantic search, similarity comparisons, and retrieval-augmented generation (RAG) workflows. For more information, see [What is embedding?](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/inference?topic=inference-about&format=markdown#embedding) and [Improving chat completions with vector embeddings and RAG](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/inference?topic=inference-embeddings-rag&format=markdown).


## July 2026
{: #july26}

### 14 July 2026
{: #8july26}
{: release-note}

Model alignment is deprecated
:   Red Hat AI Inference model alignment, synthetic data generation, and taxonomy management features are deprecated and will be removed on 25 September 2026. To continue model customization and alignment workflows, migrate to Red Hat® OpenShift® AI On OpenShift. [Learn more about Red Hat® OpenShift® AI](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/openshift?topic=openshift-ai-addon-about&format=markdown){: external}.

## June 2026
{: #june26}

### 25 June 2026
{: #25june26}
{: release-note}

New models available
:   Two new models are now available for inference: `gemma-4-31b-it` and `granite-4-1-30b`. To view all available models, open your project in [Red Hat AI Inference](https://cloud.ibm.com/inference/projects){: external} and click **Model catalog**.

## May 2026
{: #may26}

### 22 May 2026
{: #22may26}
{: release-note}

Inference is now generally available
:   You can now use Red Hat AI Inference to run inference workloads in production. Use industry-standard OpenAI compatible APIs for chat completions to integrate inference capabilities into your applications. A playground is now available in the console where you can test different inference settings and configurations before moving to production. For more information, see [Getting started](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/inference?topic=inference-getting-started&format=markdown).


## April 2026
{: #apr26}

### 23 April 2026
{: #23apr26}
{: release-note}

Inference with Red Hat AI on IBM Cloud (Beta)
:   You can now use inference to interact with foundation models and evaluate AI-powered responses for your applications. The inference feature provides industry-standard OpenAI compatible APIs for chat completions and model management. This beta feature is available for evaluation and testing purposes. To get access to the beta, send an email to `instructlab@ibm.com`. For more information, see [Working with chat completions](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/inference?topic=inference-inf-chat-completions&interface=ui&format=markdown).

## October 2025
{: #oct25}


### 10 October 2025
{: #10oct25}
{: release-note}

Red Hat AI Inference CLI plug-in version 0.0.26
:   Version 0.0.26 of the plug-in adds file size limits. Each of the skills and knowledge documents must be less than 100 GB in size. The cumulative size of all the skills and knowledge JSON files must be less than 400 GB.

## September 2025
{: #sept25}

### 23 September 2025
{: #23aug25}
{: release-note}

Version 1.5 of Red Hat AI Inference is available
:   For the best results, run training on newly generated synthetic data with version 1.5.
:   For more information, see the [release notes](https://redhat.atlassian.net/browse/RHELAI-4993){: external}, the [RHEL AI documentation](https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_enterprise_linux_ai/1.5/html/release_notes/rhelai_release_notes#rhelai_release_notes){: external} and the [known issues](https://redhat.atlassian.net/browse/RHELAI-3604){: external}

New base model
:   Red Hat AI Inference now uses the `granite-3.1-8b-starter-v2.1` model. For more information, see the [model specifications](https://docs.redhat.com/en/documentation/red_hat_enterprise_linux_ai/1.5/html/building_and_maintaining_your_environment/download_models){: external}.


## August 2025
{: #aug25}


### 22 August 2025
{: #2aug25}
{: release-note}

New! Import your own training data
:   You can now import your own training data for training models. When you import your own training data, you can specify previously generated data IDs, or add knowledge and skills files to a data generation job by uploading files from Object Storage or your local machine.

New! Taxonomy validation
:   When you upload a taxonomy to Red Hat AI Inference, it's now checked for formatting and syntax errors. Also, if you reference external knowledge documents in your `qna.yaml` files, Red Hat AI Inference checks for access to those files. Additionally, Red Hat AI Inference checks for the proper service authorizations for services like Object Storage and Secrets Manager.

Red Hat AI Inference CLI plug-in version `0.0.24`
:   Version `0.0.24` of the plug-in adds support for importing your own training data to the `data generate` command.

## May 2025
{: #may25}


### 09 May 2025
{: #09may25}
{: release-note}


New! Private repo support
:   You can now use Secrets Manager to give Red Hat AI Inference access to your taxonomy knowledge documents in private repositories or GitHub Enterprise repositories. You can enable private repository access when uploading your taxonomy in the console or by using the CLI. For information, see [Getting started with Red Hat AI Inference](https://cloud.ibm.com/docs/inference?topic=inference-getting-started&interface=ui&format=markdown).



## April 2025
{: #apr25}


### 24 April 2025
{: #24apr25}
{: release-note}


Introducing Red Hat AI Inference on IBM Cloud!
:   Get ready to dive into AI! InstructLab is an open source project from IBM and Red Hat to be a cost-effective entry point into the world of machine learning.