Baidu Unveils Ernie X1 AI Model : Baidu Inc. has introduced its latest Ernie X1 AI model, aiming to reclaim its position in China’s competitive artificial intelligence race against emerging rivals like DeepSeek. The move comes as the AI landscape shifts rapidly, with cost-effective and high-performing models from new players shaking up the industry.
Baidu Unveils Ernie X1 AI Model
DeepSeek recently launched AI models it claims rival leading U.S. counterparts at a fraction of the cost, triggering intense competition. Baidu’s Ernie X1 model, similar to DeepSeek R1, is designed to excel in daily conversations, complex calculations, and logical reasoning, the company said in a statement on Sunday. Additionally, Baidu upgraded its flagship foundation model to Ernie 4.5, asserting that it surpasses OpenAI’s GPT-4.5 in text generation, based on industry benchmarks.
In a strategic shift, Baidu has decided to make all tiers of its chatbot services, including Ernie X1, free for users ahead of schedule. It has also announced that from June 30, Ernie AI models will be open-sourced, a significant change in response to DeepSeek’s growing influence. Furthermore, Baidu has integrated the R1 model into its search engine, reinforcing its core business.
Baidu was the first in China’s trillion-dollar tech industry to launch a ChatGPT-style chatbot, but competition from ByteDance and Moonshot AI quickly gained traction. Meanwhile, open-source models like Alibaba’s Qwen and DeepSeek attracted global developer interest.
The AI boom contributed to a 26% rise in Baidu’s cloud revenue in Q4 2024, fuelled by demand for computing power among developers. However, this growth was overshadowed by weak advertising sales amid China’s economic slowdown.
The company’s $2.1 billion acquisition of a cloud computing firm has unlocked $1.6 billion in escrow funds, which Baidu now plans to reinvest in AI and cloud infrastructure to strengthen its competitive edge in the AI revolution.
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