China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek / Photo: © AFP/File
RIO
1.8400
The Fort Worth Press - China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek
USD
-
AFN 70.432593
ALL 91.050584
AMD 390.569924
ANG 1.798032
AOA 911.999897
ARS 1063.861021
AUD 1.581395
AWG 1.8
AZN 1.6682
BAM 1.790616
BBD 2.014374
BDT 121.21767
BGN 1.790616
BHD 0.376104
BIF 2956.099794
BMD 1
BND 1.331563
BOB 6.894026
BRL 5.745596
BSD 0.997665
BTN 86.717327
BWP 13.592126
BYN 3.264912
BYR 19600
BZD 2.003937
CAD 1.43792
CDF 2876.000437
CHF 0.882751
CLF 0.024225
CLP 929.613184
CNY 7.23785
CNH 7.2395
COP 4115.44976
CRC 498.420691
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 100.952163
CZK 22.998099
DJF 177.651637
DKK 6.858399
DOP 62.732891
DZD 133.115129
EGP 50.468299
ERN 15
ETB 131.0374
EUR 0.91555
FJD 2.290976
FKP 0.773091
GBP 0.773465
GEL 2.775008
GGP 0.773091
GHS 15.442804
GIP 0.773091
GMD 71.491246
GNF 8672.105689
GTQ 7.704568
GYD 208.985412
HKD 7.772765
HNL 25.633617
HRK 6.9258
HTG 133.076909
HUF 366.799262
IDR 16351.742674
ILS 3.64425
IMP 0.773091
INR 86.948679
IQD 1310.306894
IRR 42002.880173
ISK 133.993515
JEP 0.773091
JMD 156.136803
JOD 0.709029
JPY 148.632975
KES 129.702749
KGS 87.450009
KHR 4001.036016
KMF 451.767344
KPW 900.009261
KRW 1451.244265
KWD 0.3088
KYD 0.820011
KZT 501.199581
LAK 21652.993185
LBP 90227.73003
LKR 296.309238
LRD 199.168874
LSL 18.168804
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.812993
MAD 9.689035
MDL 17.791289
MGA 4675.310857
MKD 56.379504
MMK 2099.758323
MNT 3473.17909
MOP 8.006543
MRU 39.968936
MUR 44.950674
MVR 15.45992
MWK 1733.394393
MXN 19.93505
MYR 4.446459
MZN 63.574491
NAD 18.168804
NGN 1547.612245
NIO 36.625074
NOK 10.640405
NPR 139.183097
NZD 1.740281
OMR 0.385
PAB 1
PEN 3.658336
PGK 4.054568
PHP 57.269249
PKR 280.096131
PLN 3.838435
PYG 7987.102859
QAR 3.639795
RON 4.574106
RSD 107.724204
RUB 85.504654
RWF 1404.876498
SAR 3.750156
SBD 8.499789
SCR 14.938148
SDG 599.053774
SEK 10.13767
SGD 1.334462
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.829729
SLL 20969.501083
SOS 571.789733
SRD 36.294663
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.750149
SYP 13001.855181
SZL 18.168804
THB 33.506786
TJS 10.892306
TMT 3.506346
TND 3.078015
TOP 2.403823
TRY 36.632898
TTD 6.808789
TWD 32.974352
TZS 2631.61813
UAH 41.646876
UGX 3665.577031
UYU 42.641413
UZS 12947.309311
VES 65.8227
VND 25505.052165
VUV 122.95793
WST 2.818495
XAF 602.356458
XAG 0.0296
XAU 0.000335
XCD 2.700037
XDR 0.750475
XOF 602.356458
XPF 109.580728
YER 246.760526
ZAR 18.180601
ZMK 9001.199408
ZMW 28.750575
ZWL 321.999592
- 'I feel like I'm dreaming', says Newcastle's League Cup hero Burn
- Cavs win streak halted after Magic comeback
- Quick Mofokeng brace helps Pirates sink leaders Sundowns
- Marquez show rolls on with Marc beating Alex in Argentina
- Howe joy as Newcastle end 'years of hurt'
- Pope seen celebrating mass in first photo since hospitalisation
- Montpellier Ligue 1 clash abandoned after crowd trouble
- Freeman says England rising star Pollock knew he'd score a Six Nations debut try against Wales
- Napoli miss out on Serie A summit, troubled Juve hammered by Fiorentina
- Cuba gradually turning lights back on after island-wide blackout
- 'I feel like I'm dreaming', says Newcastle's League Cup hero Burn
- Cavs win streak halted after Magic comeback
- Quick Mofokeng brace helps Pirates sink leaders Sundowns
- Marquez show rolls on with Marc beating Alex in Argentina
- Howe joy as Newcastle end 'years of hurt'
- Pope seen celebrating mass in first photo since hospitalisation
- Montpellier Ligue 1 clash abandoned after crowd trouble
- Freeman says England rising star Pollock knew he'd score a Six Nations debut try against Wales
- Napoli miss out on Serie A summit, troubled Juve hammered by Fiorentina
- Cuba gradually turning lights back on after island-wide blackout
China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek
Chinese internet search giant Baidu released a new artificial intelligence reasoning model Sunday and made its AI chatbot services free as ferocious competition grips the sector.
Technology companies in China have been scrambling to release improved AI platforms since start-up DeepSeek shocked its rivals with its open source and highly cost-efficient model in January.
Baidu announced in a WeChat post that its latest X1 reasoning model -- which the company claims performs similarly to DeepSeek's but for lower cost -- and a new foundation model, Ernie 4.5, were available via its AI chatbot Ernie Bot.
Baidu also made the models free to use, more than two weeks ahead of schedule. Previously, users had to pay a monthly subscription to access the company's latest AI models.
The Beijing-based company was one of China's first to roll out a generative AI platform publicly, in 2023, but rival chatbots from companies such as TikTok owner ByteDance and Moonshot AI have since gained more users.
Baidu faces stiff competition in the consumer-facing AI sector where startup DeepSeek shook up the industry at home and abroad with a model that performed comparably to competitors such as US-made ChatGPT, but cost much less to develop.
Since then, Chinese companies and local government agencies have rushed to incorporate DeepSeek's open-source model into their work, while other technology companies have been playing catch-up.
Baidu itself has integrated DeepSeek's R1 reasoning model into its search engine.
In February, WeChat owner Tencent released a new AI model that it claimed answers queries faster than DeepSeek, even as it incorporated its rival's technology into its messaging platform.
The same month, Alibaba, which has partnered with Apple to develop AI for the US company's phones in China, said it would invest 380 billion yuan ($52 billion) in AI over the next three years.
Alibaba this month also released a new version of its AI assistant app powered by its open-source Qwen reasoning model.
Baidu has also announced plans to follow DeepSeek's lead by making its Ernie AI models open-source from June 30.
S.Weaver--TFWP
