MiniMax says M3.1 Flash is coming and claims the anonymous Space Bunny model that topped usage charts
Welcome back. Space Bunny. 馃殌 MiniMax-M3.1-Flash is coming.
Context
A cheap, fast model from MiniMax that was already popular under a code name adds pressure on other labs' small coding models.
This is a first hand teaser from MiniMax's official account, posted with a short video. A free anonymous model called Space Bunny Alpha appeared on OpenRouter in September, and Chinese outlet Yicai reported that the post was seen as MiniMax claiming it as an early version of M3.1 Flash.
Deep dive
On October 19, MiniMax posted: Welcome back. Space Bunny. MiniMax M3.1 Flash is coming. Its 25 second video shows a carrot built like a rocket lifting off from a launch tower, with Space Bunny written on its side, climbing through clouds into orbit and splitting apart above the Earth before the MiniMax M3.1 flash logo appears.
The post quoted Ryan Lee, MiniMax's head of developer relations, who wrote: Dear friends, we are back, with an image of the same carrot rocket over the Earth.
Space Bunny Alpha appeared on OpenRouter on September 23 under a provider named Stealth, with a 1 million token context window, according to CodersEra, which argued on October 5 that its settings matched a MiniMax preview model. Yicai reported that within three days of launch Space Bunny led daily token usage on OpenRouter and OpenCode, alongside DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and GLM 5.3 Flash, and that it is an early version of M3.1 Flash.
MiniMax's API documentation lists MiniMax M3.1 Flash as its latest model, with a 1 million token context window, text, image and video input, and a setting to tune how much it thinks. The post calls the model coming, and MiniMax has not published benchmark results or pricing for it.
What to expect next
Watch for MiniMax's formal release, including pricing, benchmark results and whether the weights are published.
Also watch how M3.1 Flash compares with DeepSeek V4.1 Flash and other small coding models in independent tests. Launching under an anonymous name first is becoming a common way for labs to test demand, and Space Bunny's usage gives MiniMax a head start with developers who already tried it.