SoftBank and Intel Partner to Develop Next-Generation Memory Chips for AI Data Centers 
Sony Q3 Profit Jumps on Gaming and Image Sensors, Full-Year Outlook Raised 
Global PC Makers Eye Chinese Memory Chip Suppliers Amid Ongoing Supply Crunch 
Nintendo Shares Slide After Earnings Miss Raises Switch 2 Margin Concerns 
Alphabet’s Massive AI Spending Surge Signals Confidence in Google’s Growth Engine 
SoftBank Shares Slide After Arm Earnings Miss Fuels Tech Stock Sell-Off 
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang Says AI Investment Boom Is Just Beginning as NVDA Shares Surge 
SpaceX Pushes for Early Stock Index Inclusion Ahead of Potential Record-Breaking IPO 
Nvidia Confirms Major OpenAI Investment Amid AI Funding Race 
Washington Post Publisher Will Lewis Steps Down After Layoffs 
Nasdaq Proposes Fast-Track Rule to Accelerate Index Inclusion for Major New Listings 
Palantir Stock Jumps After Strong Q4 Earnings Beat and Upbeat 2026 Revenue Forecast 
Tencent Shares Slide After WeChat Restricts YuanBao AI Promotional Links 
Weight-Loss Drug Ads Take Over the Super Bowl as Pharma Embraces Direct-to-Consumer Marketing 
Rio Tinto Shares Hit Record High After Ending Glencore Merger Talks 
Trump Backs Nexstar–Tegna Merger Amid Shifting U.S. Media Landscape 
Baidu (NASDAQ:BIDU) will open-source its next-generation Ernie AI model from June 30, marking a major strategy shift as competition in the AI sector intensifies. The move comes after the rise of DeepSeek, an open-source AI startup claiming performance on par with OpenAI's systems at a lower cost.
Baidu CEO Robin Li, previously a proponent of closed-source models, acknowledged at an event in Dubai that open-source development could accelerate AI adoption. "Opening things up will spark curiosity and help spread the technology faster," he said.
To boost market share, Baidu will make its Ernie Bot chatbot free starting April 1, about 18 months after its premium launch. Despite significant AI investments since OpenAI’s ChatGPT debuted in 2022, Baidu's Ernie model has struggled with adoption. According to Aicpb.com, as of January, ByteDance's Doubao chatbot leads the Chinese market with 78.6 million monthly users, followed by DeepSeek with 33.7 million and Ernie Bot with 13 million.
Baidu claims its current model, Ernie 4.0, matches OpenAI’s GPT-4 in performance. The company also announced it will gradually roll out the Ernie 4.5 series in the coming months, with the official open-source release set for June 30. Additionally, Baidu is preparing to launch its next-generation Ernie 5 model in the second half of 2025, according to a source familiar with the matter.
The open-source pivot highlights Baidu's bid to increase Ernie’s market share and attract more developers amid rising competition from ByteDance and DeepSeek. With AI adoption accelerating globally, this strategic shift could strengthen Baidu’s position in the evolving AI landscape.
