Chinese startup MiniMax just dropped M2.5, its most powerful model yet. But M2.5 flopped in my testing, scoring a C+.

That’s only slightly better than MiniMax’s prior model, which I gave a C last month. Let me show you where this model works and where it fails…

Round #1: Automating My Investing

I see a lot of founders using Openclaw to automate repetitive tasks. Can I do the same with my investing?

Let’s ask MiniMax… 

MiniMax gave me some interesting ideas, like crawling startup directories or researching founder backgrounds. 

I didn’t find MiniMax’s suggestions super compelling or original. I can already do many of these things with Grok or Gemini.

But it did provide some worthwhile ideas, so I’ll give this round a B.

Round #2: MiniMax as Blog Muse

The hardest thing about this blog is finding new topics. Maybe MiniMax can help! 

MiniMax gave me some interesting ideas. I like the one about bootstrapping vs. raising venture capital.

I’ve already covered a lot of the topics on MiniMax’s list. That’s not MiniMax’s fault — I’ve just been at this a long time!

I’m giving MiniMax an A on this round. 

Round #3: MiniMax as Personal Shopper

If there’s one thing that annoys the heck out of me, it’s shopping.

I’ve been trying to find a good price on a new parka. Can MiniMax help? 

MiniMax was useless here. It just tells me to check REI.

Duh! Thanks a lot MiniMax.

I’m giving this round an F. 

Wrap-Up

M2.5 claims to be much more powerful than the original MiniMax. It scores well on benchmarks.

But in the real world, M2.5 falls flat. 

Benchmarks can be gamed. That’s why I always rely on real-world tests.

If you need a cheap, open-source model to run a basic function in your application, M2.5 can work. But if you want state-of-the-art, MiniMax isn’t it. 

More on tech: 

Kimi K2.5 Is Slow and Stupid

Can DeepSeek Beat the Best American Models?

SaaS Isn’t Dead — Time to Buy the Dip? 

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