ERNIE 4.5 AI model by Baidu claims to match DeepSeek R1 at half the cost

Baidu, the Chinese technology giant, has announced the release of two advanced artificial intelligence (AI) models: ERNIE 4.5 (Enhanced Representation through Knowledge Integration) and ERNIE X1. The company also announced that its conversational AI platform, ERNIE Bot, is now freely accessible to all users - ahead of schedule.

ERNIE 4.5 represents Baidu's latest advancement in multimodal AI modeling. The model integrates various data types — text, images, audio, and video — through joint modeling, enhancing its ability to comprehend and generate content across these modalities. This integration leads to improvements in understanding, generation, reasoning, and memory capabilities. Notably, ERNIE 4.5 demonstrates significant enhancements in logical reasoning and coding abilities, addressing previous challenges in these areas.

In internal evaluations, ERNIE 4.5 has shown performance on par with models like DeepSeek-R1, but at approximately half the deployment cost. This cost efficiency positions ERNIE 4.5 as a competitive option for enterprises seeking advanced AI capabilities without incurring substantial expenses.

(Image credit: Baidu)

(Image credit: Baidu)

ERNIE X1 is Baidu's first model specifically designed for reasoning-intensive tasks. It excels in logical inference, problem-solving, and structured decision-making, making it suitable for applications in finance, law, and data analysis. The model's architecture emphasizes understanding, planning, reflection, and evolution, aiming to provide robust reasoning capabilities while maintaining cost efficiency.

Originally scheduled for a later release, Baidu's ERNIE Bot is now freely available to all users ahead of plan. This early rollout is attributed to improvements in production capacity and model optimization. By making ERNIE Bot accessible to a broader audience, Baidu aims to accelerate user engagement and gather feedback to improve its AI offerings.

Baidu plans to integrate ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1 across its product ecosystem, including Baidu Search and the Wenxiaoyan app. This integration aims to enhance user experience by providing more versatile and advanced AI functionalities. For enterprise users and developers, ERNIE 4.5 is now accessible via APIs on Baidu AI Cloud's Qianfan platform, with ERNIE X1 to follow soon.

The release of ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1 occurs amid increasing competition in the AI industry. Companies like OpenAI, Google, and DeepSeek are continually advancing their AI models. Baidu's focus on cost-effective, high-performance models reflects its strategy to meet the growing demand for scalable AI solutions in various sectors.