Dubai Telegraph - China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek

EUR -
AED 4.011471
AFN 76.929235
ALL 99.449011
AMD 426.595758
ANG 1.96388
AOA 996.122496
ARS 1161.990645
AUD 1.725496
AWG 1.96603
AZN 1.861143
BAM 1.955781
BBD 2.200178
BDT 132.398683
BGN 1.961476
BHD 0.410796
BIF 3228.767893
BMD 1.092239
BND 1.454386
BOB 7.529925
BRL 6.275574
BSD 1.089689
BTN 94.716058
BWP 14.845852
BYN 3.566065
BYR 21407.887117
BZD 2.188778
CAD 1.57135
CDF 3141.280158
CHF 0.964175
CLF 0.026459
CLP 1015.359903
CNY 7.905464
CNH 7.90727
COP 4495.055301
CRC 544.394586
CUC 1.092239
CUP 28.944337
CVE 110.263904
CZK 25.119866
DJF 194.03807
DKK 7.491017
DOP 68.519319
DZD 145.393554
EGP 55.123452
ERN 16.383587
ETB 143.124177
FJD 2.502364
FKP 0.8444
GBP 0.843917
GEL 3.031007
GGP 0.8444
GHS 16.867235
GIP 0.8444
GMD 78.085537
GNF 9472.013248
GTQ 8.415231
GYD 228.262047
HKD 8.489718
HNL 27.99804
HRK 7.564634
HTG 145.351809
HUF 400.63251
IDR 17860.013334
ILS 3.980393
IMP 0.8444
INR 94.96875
IQD 1431.168473
IRR 45877.18966
ISK 146.352962
JEP 0.8444
JMD 170.538727
JOD 0.774441
JPY 162.342823
KES 141.666418
KGS 95.516323
KHR 4370.088132
KMF 493.437974
KPW 983.02534
KRW 1585.105785
KWD 0.337283
KYD 0.895648
KZT 547.429799
LAK 23650.246625
LBP 98550.258128
LKR 323.640547
LRD 217.54004
LSL 19.844679
LTL 3.225099
LVL 0.660685
LYD 5.256939
MAD 10.582743
MDL 19.432342
MGA 5106.557504
MKD 61.579901
MMK 2293.438222
MNT 3793.542138
MOP 8.745059
MRU 43.655636
MUR 49.096886
MVR 16.885929
MWK 1893.281199
MXN 21.773842
MYR 4.856596
MZN 69.438548
NAD 19.844679
NGN 1690.362665
NIO 40.003339
NOK 11.621866
NPR 152.021226
NZD 1.900803
OMR 0.420512
PAB 1.092239
PEN 3.995778
PGK 4.428558
PHP 62.551715
PKR 305.931957
PLN 4.192489
PYG 8723.826347
QAR 3.976159
RON 4.996017
RSD 117.660592
RUB 93.39153
RWF 1534.461096
SAR 4.096304
SBD 9.283802
SCR 16.31603
SDG 654.309979
SEK 11.07276
SGD 1.457552
SHP 0.858328
SLE 24.936225
SLL 22903.7098
SOS 624.531126
SRD 39.642451
STD 22607.144948
SVC 9.557496
SYP 14201.135104
SZL 19.844679
THB 36.597423
TJS 11.897003
TMT 3.829768
TND 3.361929
TOP 2.62555
TRY 40.011891
TTD 7.436826
TWD 36.015878
TZS 2874.356319
UAH 45.488348
UGX 4003.686699
USD 1.092239
UYU 46.57462
UZS 14141.55797
VES 71.89413
VND 27857.616208
VUV 134.299464
WST 3.07847
XAF 657.917299
XAG 0.03233
XAU 0.000366
XCD 2.949086
XDR 0.819698
XOF 657.917299
XPF 119.331742
YER 269.521504
ZAR 19.857567
ZMK 9831.466852
ZMW 31.402503
ZWL 351.700557
  • SCS

    0.2000

    10.99

    +1.82%

  • RBGPF

    66.0200

    66.02

    +100%

  • NGG

    0.8900

    63.21

    +1.41%

  • RELX

    1.1200

    48.93

    +2.29%

  • VOD

    0.0500

    9.55

    +0.52%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    39.49

    +0.66%

  • RIO

    1.8400

    63.04

    +2.92%

  • RYCEF

    0.0500

    10.4

    +0.48%

  • CMSC

    0.0500

    23.22

    +0.22%

  • BTI

    -0.0200

    41.36

    -0.05%

  • JRI

    0.0335

    12.83

    +0.26%

  • BCC

    2.9700

    99.35

    +2.99%

  • BCE

    -0.1990

    23.47

    -0.85%

  • AZN

    1.0900

    77.6

    +1.4%

  • CMSD

    0.1500

    23.35

    +0.64%

  • BP

    1.0200

    33.39

    +3.05%

China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek
China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek / Photo: ADEK BERRY - AFP/File

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.

Text size:

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.

F.El-Yamahy--DT