What is Foundation model?
A foundation model is a large AI model trained on broad data, typically at scale, that can be adapted to many downstream tasks, such as a large language model. The term is common in research and policy; the EU AI Act uses the related legal concept of a general-purpose AI model.
Organisations rarely build foundation models, but they often use them through a supplier. That makes vendor oversight important: the downstream system built on the model is what is classified and governed, while the model provider has its own obligations.