Baidu releases AI model that competes with DeepSeek for free

China's Baidu is making new artificial intelligence (AI) models available for free two weeks earlier than expected, with the company planning to open-source its Ernie AI models from June 30.

Ernie is a large AI-powered language model introduced in 2019, according to Baidu. (Source: Getty Images)

On March 16, Chinese technology group Baidu released a new artificial intelligence (AI) model capable of reasoning and offered its AI chatbot service for free amid fierce competition in the industry.

Baidu said in a statement on WeChat that its X1 inference AI model has comparable performance to DeepSeek's AI model but at a lower cost. The model, along with a new foundational model called Ernie 4.5, is now available on its AI chatbot Ernie Bot.

Baidu is making the models available for free, two weeks earlier than expected. Previously, users had to pay a monthly subscription fee to access the company's latest AI models. The company plans to open source Ernie's AI models starting June 30.

Beijing-based Baidu was one of the first Chinese companies to announce the rollout of a generative AI platform by 2023. However, chatbots from rival companies such as TikTok owner ByteDance and Moonshot AI have gained more users.

Baidu, along with other tech companies in China, has been facing fierce competition since January when startup DeepSeek announced an AI model that performed on par with the US-made ChatGPT model, but at a much lower cost.

According to analysts, DeepSeek's open-source and low-price strategy is forcing leading Chinese AI companies to cut prices to compete./.

Source: https://www.vietnamplus.vn/baidu-phat-hanh-mien-phi-mo-hinh-ai-canh-tranh-voi-deepseek-post1020880.vnp