ARWKV: Pretrain is not what we need, an RNN-Attention-Based Language Model Born from Transformer
On the map: LLM safety and security → Machine unlearning
Abstract (arXiv)
As is known, hybrid quadratic and subquadratic attention models in multi-head architectures have surpassed both Transformer and Linear RNN models , with these works primarily focusing on reducing KV complexity and improving efficiency. For further research on expressiveness, we introduce our series of models distilled from Qwen 2.5, based on pure native RWKV-7 attention, which aims to make RNN more expressive and demonstrates state tracking ability beyond transformers. We work with QRWK 32B based on RWKV-6 architecture, another approach that reduces the entire knowledge processing time to just 8 hours using 16 AMD MI300X GPUs while maintaining Qwen 2.5's performance. In fact, the distillation process can utilize any LLM, not just Qwen, and enables knowledge transfer from larger LLMs to smaller ones with more fewer tokens. We will explain the detailed process and share our insights on building more powerful foundation models. Please note that this is an ongoing work that will be updated continuously. The model checkpoints and source code are available at hrefhttps://github.com/yynil/RWKVInsidehttps://github.com/yynil/RWKVInside, hrefhttps://huggingface.co/RWKV-Red-Team/ARWKV-7B-Preview-0.1https://huggingface.co/RWKV-Red-Team/ARWKV-7B-Preview-0.1.
Key facts. Cited by 9 papers in the map (data through 7 Oct 2026). Placed in Machine unlearning, one of 12 directions in LLM safety and security. Builds on 13 of its 13 references that are in the map. First posted on arXiv 26 Jan 2025.
Builds on
13 of 13 references.
References · 13
- 2025DeepSeek-R1: Incentivizing Reasoning Capability in LLMs via Reinforcement Learningcited by 6,146
- 2024Qwen2.5 Technical Reportcited by 4,713
- 2020Meta-Learning in Neural Networks: A Surveycited by 944
- 2023Gated Linear Attention Transformers with Hardware-Efficient Trainingcited by 490
- 2024Parallelizing Linear Transformers with the Delta Rule over Sequence Lengthcited by 373
- 2024Magpie: Alignment Data Synthesis from Scratch by Prompting Aligned LLMs with Nothingcited by 341
- 2024A Survey on Knowledge Distillation of Large Language Modelscited by 276
- 2024The Illusion of State in State-Space Modelscited by 181
- 2024Eagle and Finch: RWKV with Matrix-Valued States and Dynamic Recurrencecited by 155
- 2024The Mamba in the Llama: Distilling and Accelerating Hybrid Modelscited by 120
- 2024Unlocking State-Tracking in Linear RNNs Through Negative Eigenvaluescited by 97
- 2024Hymba: A Hybrid-head Architecture for Small Language Modelscited by 95
1 more
Built on by
Citing papers per year: 2025: 7; 2026: 2.
9 papers.
- 2025RADLADS: Rapid Attention Distillation to Linear Attention Decoders at Scalecited by 24
- 2025Distilling to Hybrid Attention Models via KL-Guided Layer Selectioncited by 17
- 2025WuNeng: Hybrid State with Attentioncited by 2
- 2026Sliding-window beats linear attentioncited by 2
- 2025BlackGoose Rimer: Harnessing RWKV-7 as a Simple yet Superior Replacement for Transformers in Large-Scale Time Series Modelingcited by 1
- 2025What Matters in Linearizing Language Models? A Comparative Study of Architecture, Scale, and Task Adaptationcited by 1
- 2026When Perplexity Lies: Generation-Focused Distillation of Hybrid Sequence Modelscited by 1
- 2025RWKVTTS: Yet another TTS based on RWKV-7cited by 0
- 2025State Tuning: State-based Test-Time Scaling on RWKV-7cited by 0
- 2026Sliding-window beats linear attention28 Aug 2026
- 2026When Perplexity Lies: Generation-Focused Distillation of Hybrid Sequence Models27 Mar 2026
- 2025Distilling to Hybrid Attention Models via KL-Guided Layer Selection23 Dec 2025
- 2025RADLADS: Rapid Attention Distillation to Linear Attention Decoders at Scale5 May 2025
- 2025WuNeng: Hybrid State with Attention27 Apr 2025
- 2025What Matters in Linearizing Language Models? A Comparative Study of Architecture, Scale, and Task Adaptation19 Apr 2025
- 2025State Tuning: State-based Test-Time Scaling on RWKV-77 Apr 2025
- 2025RWKVTTS: Yet another TTS based on RWKV-74 Apr 2025
- 2025BlackGoose Rimer: Harnessing RWKV-7 as a Simple yet Superior Replacement for Transformers in Large-Scale Time Series Modeling8 Mar 2025