China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek / Photo: ADEK BERRY - AFP/File
-
Five talking points on Nations League, World Cup qualifiers in Europe
-
Heavyweight seven eye finish line in race to succeed Olympics chief Bach
-
Australian Grand Prix: What we learned
-
Data shows patchy Chinese economy in first two months of the year
-
Starmer, Macron work 'hand in glove' amid revived UK-French ties
-
'Dark oxygen': a deep-sea discovery that has split scientists
-
Peru farmer in German court battle with energy giant
-
Race to name creatures of the deep as mining interest grows
-
Yemen's Huthis claim attacks on carrier group after US strikes
-
Asian markets start week on front foot as China unveils consumer plan
-
Japan cult widow speaks 30 years after subway attack
-
Wind-powered mast to cut emissions sets sail to Canada
-
Giant mine machine swallowing up Senegal's fertile coast
-
UK energy minister in Beijing to press China on emissions
-
Trump admin begins mass layoffs at Voice of America
-
Ovechkin set to achieve the 'impossible'
-
Colombia's 'Lord of the Fruit' fighting for native species
-
Why are proposed deep-sea mining rules so contentious?
-
Trump begins mass layoffs at Voice of America
-
Stranded US astronauts to return to Earth on Tuesday: NASA
-
McIlroy and Spaun battle into Monday playoff at storm-hit Players
-
'I like it' - Russian teen Andreeva relishes quick rise in WTA's ranks
-
Quantum Kinetics' Safe Nuclear Fusion Sustains Plasma Temperatures for 86,400 Seconds - 24hrs
-
Newcastle revel in 'strange smell' of success after League Cup glory
-
Bullish Martinez eyeing treble for Inter after statement win at Atalanta
-
Draper powers past Rune to win Indian Wells ATP Masters
-
Belgian actress Emilie Dequenne dead at 43: family, agent
-
Colombia warns Trump against drug blacklisting
-
PSG beat Marseille as Montpellier game abandoned due to crowd trouble
-
Barca mount late comeback to stun Atletico in thriller
-
Inter on course to retain Serie A title with win at Atalanta
-
Amorim welcomes break despite Man Utd upturn
-
'Magic moment' to inspire Bayern chase, says Leverkusen boss Alonso
-
McIlroy leads as final round resumes at storm-hit Players
-
Arsenal edge out Chelsea, Man Utd beat Leicester
-
Schick late show caps Leverkusen fightback to close gap on Bayern
-
Israel's Netanyahu seeks to fire internal security agency chief
-
Andreeva, 17, tops world No. 1 Sabalenka for Indian Wells title
-
Defiant Slot focuses on Liverpool Premier League push after League Cup woe
-
'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
-
Frankfurt beat Bochum and 50-minute delay to boost Champions League bid
NYSE - LSE
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.
J.Oliveira--AMWN