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WUHAN, China - Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888), a prominent AI and internet company with a market capitalization of $30.77 billion and an impressive "GREAT" financial health rating according to InvestingPro, announced the launch of two advanced artificial intelligence models, ERNIE 4.5 Turbo and ERNIE X1 Turbo, at its annual developer conference Baidu Create 2025 today. These models are touted for their enhanced multimodal capabilities and reasoning, with a significant reduction in cost compared to their predecessors.
ERNIE 4.5 Turbo is designed to deliver faster responses and reduce hallucinations in AI interactions. It is reportedly priced at 20% of the cost of ERNIE 4.5. ERNIE X1 Turbo, an upgraded deep thinking reasoning model, is said to be available at half the price of ERNIE X1. According to Baidu, ERNIE X1 Turbo offers improved performance and is only 25% of the price of its competitor, DeepSeek R1.
The introduction of these models follows the release of ERNIE 4.5 and ERNIE X1 on March 16, 2025, which were well-received in the market. With a strong current ratio of 2.09 and earnings per share of $9.04, Baidu demonstrates robust financial performance as it advances in AI innovation. Baidu’s CEO Robin Li emphasized that the future of AI lies in practical applications rather than just advanced models or chips.
In addition to the models, Baidu unveiled a new multi-agent collaboration app, Xinxiang, capable of executing complex tasks from a single sentence prompt. The company also showcased its highly convincing digital humans, which feature lifelike voices and appearances.
Baidu further introduced the AI Open Initiative, offering developers access to traffic and monetization opportunities, as well as the integration of the Model Context Protocol (MCP) into its existing products. This initiative is aimed at simplifying the connection between external services and large models for developers.
The company also announced the third ERNIE Cup Innovation Challenge with doubled prize amounts and plans to cultivate an additional 10 million AI talents over the next five years.
The information for this article is based on a press release statement from Baidu, Inc.
In other recent news, Baidu has filed its annual report on Form 20-F for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2024, which includes the company’s audited consolidated financial statements. This report is accessible on both Baidu’s investor relations website and the Hong Kong Stock Exchange’s site. Baidu has also completed a CNY 10 billion offering of senior unsecured notes, with the proceeds earmarked for general corporate purposes, including debt repayment. Additionally, Baidu finalized a $2 billion exchangeable bond offering due in 2032, with proceeds similarly intended for debt repayment and other corporate uses. These bonds are linked to Trip.com shares and have been approved for listing on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange.
Moreover, Baidu has concluded the acquisition of YY Live, a live streaming business, for approximately $2.1 billion, marking its strategic expansion in the live streaming sector. The funds from this acquisition are expected to enhance Baidu’s cloud and AI infrastructure. These developments are part of Baidu’s broader strategy to strengthen its financial and operational footing. The company has also issued forward-looking statements, though it cautions that these are subject to risks and uncertainties.
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