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Baidu Set to Launch Next-Gen AI Model “Ernie 5” in 2025

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Baidu, China’s leading tech company, is poised to unveil the next iteration of its AI model, Ernie 5, in the second half of 2025, according to a source familiar with the matter. The new model will introduce multimodal capabilities, enabling it to handle and convert various formats, including text, video, images, and audio.

This launch comes at a time of fierce competition in China’s AI sector, especially from the startup DeepSeek, which has gained attention for offering a reasoning model that competes with OpenAI’s GPT at a lower cost. Despite being an early adopter in AI with its Ernie model, Baidu has faced challenges in achieving widespread adoption, even though it claims that Ernie 4 rivals the capabilities of GPT-4.

Baidu’s AI models have lagged behind domestic competitors, including ByteDance’s Doubao chatbot and DeepSeek, in terms of user uptake. Baidu CEO Robin Li acknowledged at a recent Dubai conference that the rise of DeepSeek highlights the unpredictable nature of innovation. He also noted that investment in data centers and cloud infrastructure remains essential, even though DeepSeek has shown that AI models can be made more cost-efficient.

Four Ways DeepSeek Could Change Everything

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The release of DeepSeek’s highly effective and cost-efficient large language model has made waves in the AI industry, promising far-reaching implications for technology, trade, and U.S.-China economic relations. While the immediate market impact may have been brief, the long-term effects could be profound. Here are four predictions on how DeepSeek might shape the future:

  1. Artificial Intelligence Costs Will Continue to Plummet
    Innovations typically aim to achieve more with less, and AI is no different. Before DeepSeek’s release, the costs of leading AI models had already fallen by about 80% annually over the past two years. DeepSeek has accelerated this trend by making AI models 30 times cheaper compared to market leader OpenAI, through algorithmic advancements and aggressive pricing strategies. This deflationary trend is expected to persist as more research and competition in the AI field drive costs lower.

  2. The AI Economic Pie Will Get Bigger and Be Sliced Differently
    As AI becomes more affordable and accessible, demand is expected to grow, following the concept of Jevons paradox, which suggests that more efficient technology leads to greater consumption of resources. As foundational models become commoditized, the focus will shift to applications, pushing more resources toward the deployment of AI in specific tasks, or “inference,” rather than training models. This shift could spark increased demand for custom-designed chips like XPUs, optimized for specific AI applications, as opposed to traditional GPUs. Nvidia has already observed that demand for inference chips is growing faster than for training chips, signaling a broader industry shift.

  3. U.S. Chip Export Controls Will Deserve Careful Reassessment
    DeepSeek’s success came from utilizing less advanced and fewer chips than its U.S. counterparts, illustrating how innovation can thrive even under constraints. Despite ongoing U.S. export controls that may limit DeepSeek and other Chinese companies in the short term, these restrictions are unlikely to halt their progress. The U.S. risks isolating its chip technologies from China’s market, potentially on a permanent basis. Additionally, the export controls may undermine U.S. efforts to address trade imbalances with China, as the country may opt to focus on developing its own capabilities rather than relying on U.S. imports.

  4. U.S. and Chinese Tech Leaders’ Interests May Align
    While initially concerning to U.S. investors, DeepSeek’s breakthrough and its open-source model have been embraced by many major U.S. tech companies. Cloud platforms like Microsoft, AWS, and Hugging Face are already incorporating models based on DeepSeek’s R-1, noting that cheaper large language models should increase demand for their cloud services, boosting their revenue streams. In the long run, businesses across both countries could benefit from the productivity gains and cost savings that AI applications offer. This could foster potential collaboration between U.S. and Chinese tech leaders, despite existing tensions. The evolution of AI presents a tremendous opportunity for both superpowers to collaborate, especially as they pursue artificial general intelligence, though ongoing geopolitical conflicts could limit this cooperation.

DeepSeek May Face Further Regulatory Actions, EU Privacy Watchdog Says

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Europe’s privacy watchdog, the European Data Protection Board (EDPB), has indicated that the Chinese AI startup DeepSeek may face additional regulatory actions in the future. This statement comes after national privacy regulators in several European countries raised concerns over DeepSeek’s practices regarding personal data usage.

The EDPB’s announcement followed discussions among national data protection authorities (DPAs) at a monthly meeting on Tuesday. The regulators had already taken steps in Italy, where DeepSeek’s chatbot was blocked due to insufficient transparency regarding its use of personal data. In addition, enforcers in France, the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg, and other nations have questioned DeepSeek about its data collection methods.

“Several DPAs have already started actions vis-a-vis DeepSeek, and there may be further actions in the future,” an EDPB spokesperson confirmed. As a result of these concerns, the EDPB expanded its taskforce, initially focused on Microsoft-backed OpenAI’s ChatGPT, to include DeepSeek. The taskforce was created in April 2023 to promote cooperation and information sharing on AI enforcement actions.

The regulators also emphasized the need for a coordinated response to sensitive matters and have decided to form a quick response team to address urgent issues. Europe’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), which took effect in 2018, remains one of the strictest privacy laws globally, and the region continues to lead efforts in protecting citizens’ privacy rights.