Baidu Challenges DeepSeek with New AI Model

In an attempt to compete with DeepSeek-R1, Baidu has unveiled Ernie X1, a new AI reasoning model that is substantially less expensive. Baidu claims that Ernie X1 offers performance comparable to DeepSeek’s open-source model at half the cost, with support for sophisticated search functions, AI image generation, and web page reading.

Baidu’s AI Expansion with Ernie 4.5

DeepSeek’s reasonably priced and highly effective R1 model, positioned as a potent substitute for OpenAI’s GPT-4o, attracted notice earlier this year. Since then, the competition in AI reasoning has gotten fiercer. Baidu has responded by releasing the Ernie X1 and an updated foundational model, Ernie 4.5. The company asserts that Ernie 4.5 performs better than OpenAI’s GPT-4.5 and offers a strong substitute at a price that is only 1% of OpenAI’s product.

Baidu is incorporating Ernie X1 and Ernie 4.5 into its products, such as Baidu Search and its AI chatbot, in order to fortify its AI ecosystem. In an effort to expand its user base in a market that is becoming more and more competitive, Baidu has also made its Ernie AI chatbot publicly accessible ahead of schedule.

The Increasing AI Competition and Baidu’s Approach

Baidu, which was first acknowledged as the top search engine in China, has been at the forefront of AI development since 2023 when it introduced Ernie Bot, the first ChatGPT equivalent. However, the AI market in China is becoming more competitive. According to Citi Research analysts, Baidu may have accelerated its own AI roadmap as a result of the quick development of models like DeepSeek-R1.

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