Investing.com -- On Monday, Chinese tech giant Baidu Inc (NASDAQ:BIDU)’s stock rose over 8% after the company announced the launch of two advanced AI models: native multimodal model ERNIE 4.5 and reasoning model ERNIE X1. Additionally, Baidu made its ERNIE Bot free to consumers ahead of the previously announced release date of April 1st, enabling users to experience the new models firsthand.
ERNIE 4.5, Baidu’s latest foundational model, is a "native multimodal" model designed to process and integrate various types of data such as text, images, audio, and video. This represents a major evolution from earlier models that added multimodal capabilities later. Baidu asserts that ERNIE 4.5 has improved significantly in understanding, generation, reasoning, and memory compared to its predecessors, ERNIE 4.0 and ERNIE 4.0 Turbo.
Several proprietary technologies underpin the model’s advancements. These include 'FlashMask' for efficient processing, heterogeneous multimodal mixture-of-experts for handling different tasks, spatiotemporal representation compression for efficient video processing, knowledge-centric training data construction, and self-feedback enhanced post-training.
The Beijing-based company claims ERNIE 4.5 outperforms OpenAI's GPT-4.5 on multiple benchmarks while being priced at just 1% of its American competitor's rate. This aggressive positioning signals Baidu's determination to capture market share in the increasingly competitive global AI landscape.
On the other hand, ERNIE X1, Baidu’s first dedicated reasoning model, is designed for complex problem-solving tasks that require deep logical analysis. It excels in areas like Chinese knowledge Q&A, literary creation, manuscript writing, dialogue, logical reasoning, and complex calculations.
Baidu claims that ERNIE X1 delivers performance “on par with DeepSeek R1 at only half the price.” However, Baidu did not provide specific benchmark results for ERNIE X1, which raises questions about the validity of its claims.
The model’s reasoning capabilities are supported by advanced techniques such as the Progressive Reinforcement Learning Method, an End-to-End Training Approach Integrating Chains of Thought and Action (WA:ACT), and a Unified Multi-Faceted Reward System.
Like ERNIE 4.5, ERNIE X1 is priced aggressively, aiming to undercut DeepSeek’s offerings and potentially disrupt the reasoning model market.
For enterprise users, ERNIE 4.5 is available through Baidu AI Cloud's Qianfan Platform at starting prices of RMB 0.004 per thousand tokens for input and RMB 0.016 for output. ERNIE X1 will soon follow with even more competitive rates of RMB 0.002 per thousand tokens for input and RMB 0.008 for output.
The company's aggressive pricing and early release reflect intensifying competition in China's AI sector, where firms are racing to develop advanced models while maintaining cost advantages. Baidu's announcement comes as Chinese technology companies face increasing pressure to demonstrate AI leadership amid global competition and domestic economic challenges. So far, investors seem impressed, as the stock continues to tick higher following the news.