Baidu, the Chinese search engine giant that is often called “China’s Google”, has just unveiled a major update to its Ernie AI model. The update introduces Ernie 4.5 as well as Ernie X1, the latter of which claims to undercut Deepseek’s AI.
Ernie 4.5 comes as a successor to the company’s foundational model, which was released 2 years ago. According to Baidu, this model’s “high EQ” allows it to understand satire content and meme humor. Meanwhile, the Ernie X1 apparently offers the same performance as the Deepseek R1 “at only half the price.” These models work with not just text but also images, video, and audio, making them fully multimodal.
Despite being among China’s earliest entrants in the generative AI race following OpenAI’s ChatGPT debut, Baidu has faced hurdles in gaining widespread user acceptance for its competing platform. The tech giant, which pioneered AI development in China, has seen its market position increasingly challenged by nimble competitors.
Meanwhile, a complete newcomer, DeepSeek, has recently upended conventional wisdom about AI development costs and capabilities. The startup recently released several AI models that deliver performance on par with the likes of ChatGPT and Gemini but at substantially reduced development expenses. This achievement created considerable anxiety among the U.S. tech sector to the point that OpenAI and Google are now seeking unfettered access to copyright data to stay ahead of the competition.
As for Baidu, the company intends to unveil Ernie 5, its next-generation AI system, before the year’s end. This release is expected to feature enhanced multimodal capabilities and more.
