China Innovation Watch

China Innovation Watch

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China Innovation Watch
China Innovation Watch
Baidu rewrites search for the AI age

Baidu rewrites search for the AI age

Baidu is reshaping its search engine with AI-native tools, agent integration, and a massive open ecosystem—signaling China’s distinct path in the global race to reinvent search.

Jul 10, 2025
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China Innovation Watch
China Innovation Watch
Baidu rewrites search for the AI age
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  • Baidu open-sourced 10 Ernie 4.5 models in late June, a sharp pivot meant to turbo-charge developer adoption.

  • Model prices were slashed by up to 80 percent at Baidu Create 2025, fuelling an AI price war in China.

  • AI Cloud revenue jumped 42 percent YoY in Q1 2025, lifting cloud to over a quarter of Baidu Core sales.

  • A decade-defining search overhaul now taps 18,000+ MCP plug-ins, turning queries into task execution flows.

China’s search champion is racing to redefine itself for the generative-AI era. As chatbots and multimodal models reshape user behaviour, Baidu is executing a three-pronged play: open the tech, cut the cost, and flood products with AI. The past two months show that strategy in action.

Open source shockwave

Baidu stunned peers by donating Ernie 4.5’s ten-model roster to the open-source commons, from a lightweight 0.3 B to a monster 424 B-parameter MoE. The move counters rising open rivals and showcases confidence in model quality.

Pricing followed the same logic. At Baidu Create, the firm launched Ernie 4.5 Turbo and X1 Turbo at prices 80 percent below prior tiers, daring developers to build first, pay later.

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