China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek / Photo: © AFP/File
CMSC
0.1100
The Fort Worth Press - China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek
USD
-
AFN 70.474628
ALL 90.875032
AMD 392.339781
ANG 1.802809
AOA 914.999986
ARS 1067.55171
AUD 1.566796
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.705356
BAM 1.794534
BBD 2.019718
BDT 121.536873
BGN 1.790655
BHD 0.376731
BIF 2915.5
BMD 1
BND 1.332
BOB 6.911865
BRL 5.682799
BSD 1.000317
BTN 86.853357
BWP 13.600829
BYN 3.273631
BYR 19600
BZD 2.009341
CAD 1.42905
CDF 2874.999796
CHF 0.880801
CLF 0.023987
CLP 920.50636
CNY 7.233202
CNH 7.227205
COP 4072.5
CRC 498.956302
CUC 1
CUP 26.5
CVE 101.406089
CZK 22.932798
DJF 177.719865
DKK 6.831715
DOP 62.862111
DZD 133.471025
EGP 50.514989
ERN 15
ETB 129.000026
EUR 0.91575
FJD 2.306903
FKP 0.772807
GBP 0.76955
GEL 2.785053
GGP 0.772807
GHS 15.442628
GIP 0.772807
GMD 71.491246
GNF 8681.521872
GTQ 7.704334
GYD 208.983874
HKD 7.769735
HNL 25.633759
HRK 6.8977
HTG 133.082964
HUF 366.757803
IDR 16365.153292
ILS 3.639115
IMP 0.772807
INR 86.949253
IQD 1310.371863
IRR 42002.616039
ISK 133.993688
JEP 0.772807
JMD 156.511217
JOD 0.709008
JPY 149.20015
KES 129.702938
KGS 87.450009
KHR 4000.792835
KMF 452.166893
KPW 900
KRW 1451.538345
KWD 0.308081
KYD 0.820005
KZT 501.874734
LAK 21673.796803
LBP 90370.436087
LKR 295.334135
LRD 199.166194
LSL 18.167609
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 4.812801
MAD 9.687262
MDL 17.770017
MGA 4674.731518
MKD 56.37001
MMK 2099.984052
MNT 3472.481905
MOP 8.006124
MRU 39.926126
MUR 44.958647
MVR 15.46
MWK 1733.328504
MXN 19.943979
MYR 4.446102
MZN 63.639411
NAD 18.167609
NGN 1547.722953
NIO 36.624409
NOK 10.553095
NPR 139.184017
NZD 1.719247
OMR 0.384994
PAB 1
PEN 3.658308
PGK 4.061712
PHP 57.260464
PKR 280.090389
PLN 3.828826
PYG 7990.336833
QAR 3.639958
RON 4.572641
RSD 107.724204
RUB 85.499741
RWF 1404.777444
SAR 3.750029
SBD 8.499789
SCR 14.92221
SDG 598.962615
SEK 10.090575
SGD 1.333696
SHP 0.785843
SLE 22.824997
SLL 20969.501083
SOS 571.789733
SRD 36.319975
STD 20697.981008
SVC 8.750172
SYP 13001.94068
SZL 18.167609
THB 33.538249
TJS 10.937394
TMT 3.500179
TND 3.077978
TOP 2.403818
TRY 36.6462
TTD 6.808822
TWD 32.972358
TZS 2629.952657
UAH 41.623311
UGX 3665.572886
UYU 42.588349
UZS 12938.153443
VES 66.275499
VND 25504.999004
VUV 122.957433
WST 2.818496
XAF 602.88919
XAG 0.02953
XAU 0.000333
XCD 2.7
XDR 0.750475
XOF 602.88919
XPF 109.677643
YER 248.484335
ZAR 18.085021
ZMK 9001.196166
ZMW 28.73323
ZWL 321.999592
- Trump touts control over famed arts venue
- Trump taps Michelle Bowman to be US Fed vice chair for supervision
- Jury deliberates US pipeline case with free speech implications
- European star-gazing agency says Chile green power plant will ruin its view
- Carney says Canada 'too reliant on US' on UK, France trip
- Starbucks ordered to pay $50m for hot tea spill
- Talks on divisive deep-sea mining resume in Jamaica
- Astronauts finally to return after unexpected 9-month ISS stay
- Trump veers towards courts clash over migrant flights
- Donors pledge 5.8 bn euros for Syria, down on last year
- Trump touts control over famed arts venue
- Trump taps Michelle Bowman to be US Fed vice chair for supervision
- Jury deliberates US pipeline case with free speech implications
- European star-gazing agency says Chile green power plant will ruin its view
- Carney says Canada 'too reliant on US' on UK, France trip
- Starbucks ordered to pay $50m for hot tea spill
- Talks on divisive deep-sea mining resume in Jamaica
- Astronauts finally to return after unexpected 9-month ISS stay
- Trump veers towards courts clash over migrant flights
- Donors pledge 5.8 bn euros for Syria, down on last year
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
Advertisement
