Baidu Unveils Ernie X1 and Upgrades Ernie 4.5 to Challenge Rivals like DeepSeek

New Delhi (The Uttam Hindu): Baidu Inc. has launched a new artificial intelligence model called Ernie X1, which explains its reasoning in a move to regain its competitive edge against rising rivals like DeepSeek. The Ernie X1 model works similarly to DeepSeek’s R1, which stunned Silicon Valley by offering performance comparable to the best chatbots at a much lower development cost. Baidu claims that its new model excels in areas like daily conversations, complex calculations, and logical reasoning.

Alongside the new model, Baidu has also upgraded its flagship AI model to Ernie 4.5, and it made all services, including the Ernie X1 model, free for users earlier than planned. Baidu was the first major Chinese tech company to launch a chatbot similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT, but soon faced stiff competition from chatbots by ByteDance, Moonshot AI, and open-source models like Alibaba’s Qwen and DeepSeek. Baidu claims that Ernie 4.5 outperforms OpenAI’s GPT 4.5 in text generation, based on various industry benchmarks.

In a major strategic shift, Baidu announced it would make its Ernie AI models open-source starting June 30. This comes after DeepSeek’s rise and Baidu’s decision to integrate the R1 model into its search engine.

The company’s December-quarter results showed a 26% increase in cloud revenue, driven by services to developers needing computing power, although weak advertising sales overshadowed the growth due to China’s economic troubles. Baidu also completed a $2.1 billion deal to acquire the YY Live streaming platform Joyy Inc., freeing up $1.6 billion in funds, which will be invested into AI and cloud infrastructure.

The story of Baidu’s evolving AI strategy reflects its determination to stay ahead in the fast-paced tech race and respond to changing market dynamics.