Baidu Introduces Ernie 4.5 and X1 AI Models to Strengthen Market Position

The Chinese tech giant claims its new multimodal models outperform rivals on benchmarks and are now freely available to users.

Baidu has launched two new AI models: Ernie 4.5, a multimodal foundational model, and Ernie X1, its first reasoning-focused model.
The Ernie 4.5 model features advanced multimodal capabilities, including processing text, images, audio, and video, and reportedly surpasses OpenAI's GPT-4.5 and DeepSeek V3 in various benchmarks.
Ernie X1 is described as having enhanced reasoning capabilities, including autonomous tool usage, and is priced competitively for business applications.
Baidu has made its AI chatbot services free for individual users, removing the subscription requirement ahead of schedule.
The company plans to make its Ernie AI models open-source starting June 30, following the trend set by competitor DeepSeek.