Baidu has revealed that the company is preparing to open-source the AI model Ernie starting from June 30, stemming from the competition in the Chinese AI model market. DeepSeek has had a significant impact as an open-source model.
Recently, Robin Li, the CEO of Baidu, had plans to support the development of closed AI models, but the entrance of DeepSeek has led to a decrease in market share. Consequently, Baidu has broadened its approach significantly, not only with open-source models but also by offering free usage of the chatbot Ernie Bot since April 1.
Market share data for AI chatbots from Aicpb in January indicated that ByteDance’s Doubao has 78.6 million monthly users, DeepSeek has 33.7 million users, and Ernie Bot has 13 million users.
Currently, the latest version of the Ernie model is Ernie 4.0, with unofficial reports suggesting Baidu will introduce Ernie 5 in the latter half of 2025.
Source: Reuters
TLDR: Baidu is set to open-source the AI model Ernie due to market competition, shifting from supporting closed models. DeepSeek’s entry has impacted market share. Ernie Bot is now free for use, and upcoming Ernie 5 is expected in late 2025.
Leave a Comment