China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek / Photo: © AFP/File
RIO
-0.3300
The Fort Worth Press - China's Baidu releases new, free AI model to compete with DeepSeek
USD
-
AED 3.672497
AFN 64.500226
ALL 81.598713
AMD 359.67278
ANG 1.789785
AOA 918.000342
ARS 1538.215797
AUD 1.421848
AWG 1.8025
AZN 1.699173
BAM 1.758181
BBD 2.017808
BDT 124.280834
BGN 1.747831
BHD 0.378105
BIF 3005.600554
BMD 1
BND 1.283543
BOB 11.917476
BRL 5.351503
BSD 1.001892
BTN 95.226537
BWP 13.859348
BYN 2.947424
BYR 19600
BZD 2.014932
CAD 1.40575
CDF 2315.000075
CHF 0.830565
CLF 0.024972
CLP 986.040423
CNY 6.66835
CNH 6.664435
COP 3151.87
CRC 455.595609
CUC 1
CUP 24.044517
CVE 99.123517
CZK 21.898799
DJF 178.40785
DKK 6.719115
DOP 61.444278
DZD 135.335595
EGP 56.133904
ERN 15
ETB 162.972609
EUR 0.89891
FJD 2.243698
FKP 0.75114
GBP 0.752245
GEL 2.570501
GGP 0.75114
GHS 11.676555
GIP 0.75114
GMD 73.999937
GNF 8866.375106
GTQ 7.656419
GYD 209.942467
HKD 7.84482
HNL 26.89794
HRK 6.76901
HTG 131.239943
HUF 330.096502
IDR 18178
ILS 3.085401
IMP 0.75114
INR 95.14335
IQD 1518.788206
IRR 1857000.000035
ISK 122.639813
JEP 0.75114
JMD 159.404525
JOD 0.708975
JPY 157.735501
KES 129.940384
KGS 87.449203
KHR 4090.273689
KMF 441.000234
KPW 899.999961
KRW 1339.030262
KWD 0.31111
KYD 0.834862
KZT 457.910823
LAK 22548.645041
LBP 89716.422674
LKR 333.065143
LRD 170.315667
LSL 16.709083
LTL 2.95274
LVL 0.60489
LYD 6.436563
MAD 9.868303
MDL 18.093068
MGA 4560.450921
MKD 55.35329
MMK 2099.630718
MNT 3601.077836
MOP 8.095253
MRU 40.249373
MUR 47.550187
MVR 15.450122
MWK 1737.250425
MXN 18.65324
MYR 4.0776
MZN 63.909556
NAD 16.709008
NGN 1341.620202
NIO 36.866069
NOK 9.332115
NPR 152.363829
NZD 1.784302
OMR 0.384495
PAB 1.001888
PEN 3.451546
PGK 4.491231
PHP 64.015998
PKR 277.234306
PLN 3.96276
PYG 5828.864747
QAR 3.652104
RON 4.809899
RSD 105.631003
RUB 80.701106
RWF 1482.753351
SAR 3.750764
SBD 8.064647
SCR 13.754702
SDG 601.497124
SEK 9.94874
SGD 1.282065
SHP 0.749344
SLE 22.874987
SLL 20969.504398
SOS 572.550994
SRD 37.650502
STD 20697.981008
STN 22.02465
SVC 8.766631
SYP 13001.999685
SZL 16.701501
THB 33.764967
TJS 9.217057
TMT 3.5
TND 2.999905
TOP 2.40776
TRY 49.83783
TTD 6.800611
TWD 32.422002
TZS 2637.840286
UAH 45.735578
UGX 4393.203883
UYU 40.165228
UZS 11956.976101
VES 886.72915
VND 25847
VUV 118.98361
WST 2.767767
XAF 589.646063
XAG 0.018551
XAU 0.000246885234
XCD 2.70255
XCG 1.805556
XDR 0.707052
XOF 589.646063
XPF 107.209637
YER 236.150051
ZAR 16.66495
ZMK 9001.202236
ZMW 20.204154
ZWL 321.999592
SSP 5745.470209
MXV 2.103397
- Tech optimism lifts stocks ahead of Fed update on rates
- Plane reportedly carrying Brazil's Bolsonaro departs Ecuador
- No penalty practice for Fleetwood hero Haughey before he downs Arsenal
- Springboks pick six uncapped players for Nations Championship
- Billionaire Ambani's Jio soars in market debut after India's biggest IPO
- Israel's unassuming President Herzog holds keys to next government
- Cross-border abductions threaten Kenya's status as dissident refuge
- Plane reportedly carrying Bolsonaro stops briefly in Ecuador
- Real Madrid apologise to China over Mbappe comments
- 'Eat the rich': Indonesians protest against graft, wildfires
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.
S.Weaver--TFWP
