Beijing, China - Baidu has launched Ernie 5.0, its next-generation AI model, and will make it open-source and free to use starting April 1st. This marks a shift from Baidu's previous closed-source approach.
Ernie 5.0 features enhanced multimodal capabilities, processing text, video, images, and audio. Baidu's CEO, Robin Li, stated that open-sourcing will accelerate AI adoption and attract developers.
This decision follows increased competition from open-source AI models like DeepSeek, which rival OpenAI's performance at a lower cost. Baidu aims to remain competitive and increase its market share in the rapidly evolving AI landscape.