Baidu to Launch Next-Generation Powerful AI in 2H 2025

Chinese company Baidu intends to launch a new generation of artificial intelligence model in the second half of 2025. The Ernie 5.0 algorithm is expected to receive “significant improvements in multimodal capabilities,” CNBC writes, citing its own informed sources.

Image source: baidu.com

The basic AI model is capable of processing natural language queries and performing a wide range of tasks, including text and image generation. The multimodal algorithm is capable of processing different types of data, including text, images, audio, and video; it can combine them, as well as transform them into different categories, such as text to video or vice versa. It is noted that Baidu officials have not yet confirmed the information about the upcoming launch of the next-generation AI model.

The news of Baidu’s upcoming AI model comes as Chinese companies race to develop innovative neural networks that could allow them to compete with OpenAI and other Western tech players. Late last month, Hangzhou-based startup DeepSeek sent U.S. AI stocks plummeting by releasing an advanced open-source AI model that boasts impressive capabilities but was built at a fraction of the cost of OpenAI’s ChatGPT and other Western peers.

«“We are living in exciting times. The cost of developing [a basic AI model] in 12 months can drop by more than 90%. If you can reduce costs by a certain percentage, that means your productivity will increase by the same percentage. I think the nature of innovation is very much like that,” Baidu CEO Robin Li said recently.

Recall that Baidu became the first major Chinese tech company to release an AI bot called Ernie, similar to ChatGPT, in March 2023. Despite its initial success, Ernie has since been overshadowed by other Chinese companies like Alibaba and ByteDance. Against this backdrop, Alibaba shares have risen 33% in a year, while Baidu shares have only gained 6%.