Baidu, China’s leading technology company, has unveiled two advanced AI models—ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1—while making its ERNIE Bot chatbot freely accessible to all users ahead of the initially planned schedule.
ERNIE 4.5: A Leap in Multimodal AI
ERNIE 4.5 is Baidu’s latest multimodal foundation model, capable of processing and understanding text, images, audio, and video inputs. The model exhibits enhanced language abilities, improved logical reasoning, and memory retention, enabling more natural and context-aware interactions. Notably, ERNIE 4.5 demonstrates a high emotional quotient (EQ), allowing it to comprehend complex content such as memes and satire.
In performance benchmarks, ERNIE 4.5 surpasses OpenAI’s GPT-4.5 while being priced at just 1% of its competitor’s cost. This positions ERNIE 4.5 as a cost-effective yet highly capable alternative in the AI landscape.
Key Capabilities of ERNIE 4.5:
- Advanced Multimodal Understanding– Processes text, images, audio, and video for more comprehensive interactions.
- Enhanced Language Abilities– Generates more natural, context-aware conversations.
- Improved Reasoning & Memory Retention– Maintains long-term contextual understanding.
- High Emotional Quotient (EQ)– Recognizes and interprets nuanced content like memes and satire.
- Optimized for Efficiency– Outperforms competitors while being significantly more cost-effective.
ERNIE X1: Advancing Deep-Reasoning AI
ERNIE X1 is Baidu’s inaugural deep-thinking reasoning model, designed to emulate human-like problem-solving and logical analysis. The model excels in various tasks, including Chinese knowledge-based Q&A, literary creation, advanced dialogues, complex mathematics, and multimodal tool integration such as image and document analysis, code interpretation, and webpage reading.
Baidu claims that ERNIE X1 matches the performance of DeepSeek’s R1 model but at half the cost, offering a competitive edge in the AI market.
Key Capabilities of ERNIE X1:
- Chinese Knowledge-Based Q&A– Provides accurate responses in complex knowledge domains.
- Literary Creation & Manuscript Writing– Generates long-form content with logical coherence.
- Advanced Dialogue Capabilities– Enables sophisticated, human-like conversations.
- Logical Reasoning & Complex Mathematics– Excels in problem-solving and numerical calculations.
- Multimodal Tool Integration– Supports image analysis, document interpretation, code explanation, webpage reading, and TreeMind mapping.
Free Access to ERNIE Bot
In a strategic move to boost user adoption, Baidu has made its ERNIE Bot chatbot free to the public ahead of schedule. Users can now access both ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1 models without any charges through the official ERNIE Bot platform.
Competitive Pricing Structure
Baidu has introduced an aggressive pricing model for its AI services:
- ERNIE 4.5: CNY 0.004 (approximately ₹0.04) per 1,000 input tokens and CNY 0.016 (approximately ₹0.19) per 1,000 output tokens.
- ERNIE X1: CNY 0.002 (approximately ₹0.02) per 1,000 input tokens and CNY 0.008 (approximately ₹0.09) per 1,000 output tokens.
This pricing strategy undercuts global competitors, making Baidu’s AI offerings more accessible to a broader audience.
Open-Source Initiative
Baidu plans to open-source ERNIE 4.5 on June 30, releasing its source code and model weights to the developer community. This move aims to foster innovation and wider adoption of Baidu’s AI technologies.
With these advancements, Baidu is solidifying its position in the global AI arena, offering cost-effective and high-performance alternatives to existing models.
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