Codestral Embed marks Mistral AI's inaugural venture into embedding models, focusing specifically on code and engineered for optimal code retrieval and comprehension. It surpasses other prominent code embedding models in the industry, including Voyage Code 3, Cohere Embed v4.0, and OpenAI’s large embedding model, showcasing its superior performance. This model is capable of generating embeddings with varying dimensions and levels of precision; for example, even at a dimension of 256 and int8 precision, it maintains a competitive edge over rival models. The embeddings are organized by relevance, enabling users to select the top n dimensions, which facilitates an effective balance between quality and cost. Codestral Embed shines particularly in retrieval applications involving real-world code data, excelling in evaluations such as SWE-Bench, which uses actual GitHub issues and their solutions, along with Text2Code (GitHub), which enhances context for tasks like code completion or editing. Its versatility and performance make it a valuable tool for developers looking to leverage advanced code understanding capabilities.