ModelRefs / Mamba — AI Glossary

Mamba — AI Glossary

A state space model architecture with selective state expansion that achieves transformer-competitive quality at linear inference cost.

Overview

Gu & Dao (2023) introduced Mamba with a selective scan mechanism that lets the model focus on relevant parts of history without full attention. Mamba models train 5× faster than equivalently-sized transformers at long context. Mamba-2 and hybrid Jamba models combine SSM layers with selective attention.

Reference details

Topicarchitecture
Last reviewed2026-06-24

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Frequently asked questions

What is Mamba?

A state space model architecture with selective state expansion that achieves transformer-competitive quality at linear inference cost.

What concepts are related to Mamba?

Closely related concepts include state space model, transformer, long context.