Baidu has unveiled two AI models, Ernie 4.5 and Ernie X1, positioning itself as a major competitor in the global artificial intelligence space.
The Chinese tech giant claims these models outperform existing alternatives while offering significant cost advantages.
Ernie 4.5 demonstrates multimodal capabilities across text, images, audio, and video, with enhanced reasoning and memory performance.
According to Baidu, the model surpasses OpenAI’s GPT-4.5 in multiple benchmarks while costing just 1% of its competitor’s price.
Complementing Ernie 4.5, Ernie X1 focuses on deep-thinking reasoning, excelling in Chinese knowledge Q&A, literary creation, dialogue, and complex calculations. Baidu reports the model matches DeepSeek’s R1 performance at half the cost.
“Our goal is to make advanced AI technology accessible and affordable,” said a Baidu spokesperson. The company will release Ernie Bot for free public use starting April 1, accelerating its vision of democratizing AI technology.
These launches arrive amid intensifying AI competition between China and the United States, reflecting China’s national strategy to become a global AI leader technology by 2030.
