Baidu Launches ERNIE X1 Turbo and 4.5 Turbo AI Models, for Faster, Cheaper Performance

On April 25, 2025, Baidu introduced two advanced AI models—ERNIE X1 Turbo and ERNIE 4.5 Turbo—at its annual developer conference in Wuhan, China.

These models aim to reinforce Baidu’s position in the competitive AI landscape, offering enhanced capabilities and cost efficiencies.​

Key Features of ERNIE X1 Turbo

ERNIE X1 Turbo is a deep-thinking reasoning model that says is even better than DeepSeek R1 and DeepSeek V3.

Its multimodal capabilities and strong reasoning skills allow ERNIE X1 Turbo to perform complex text generation, solve logic puzzles, solve math problems, and understand images.

ERNIE X1 Turbo is priced at about 25% of the DeepSeek R1; users need to pay $0.14 per 1M tokens for input and $0.55 per 1M tokens for output.

Key Features of ERNIE 4.5 Turbo

• ERNIE 4.5 Turbo is multimodal which processes text, images, audio, and video.
• ERNIE 4.5 Turbo model offers faster processing speeds, complemented by an 80% price reduction from its predecessor, ERNIE 4.5.
• The model is priced at $0.11 per 1M tokens for input and $0.44 per 1M tokens for output.
• ERNIE 4.5 Turbo demonstrates overall progress in hallucination reduction, logical reasoning, and coding abilities, with faster response.
• The multimodal capabilities of ERNIE 4.5 Turbo are on par with GPT-4.1 and superior to GPT-4o across multiple benchmarks. 

Strategic Infrastructure and Ecosystem Integration

To support these models, Baidu has deployed a powerful AI training cluster comprising 30,000 third-generation P800 Kunlun chips.

This infrastructure enables the training of advanced models with hundreds of billions of parameters and supports simultaneous fine-tuning for numerous clients. ​

Baidu plans to integrate ERNIE X1 Turbo and ERNIE 4.5 Turbo across its ecosystem, including cloud services, content platforms, and the Ernie Bot, which is now accessible to users free of charge.

Developer Engagement Initiative

In addition to the model launches, Baidu announced the AI Open Initiative, providing developers with access to its AI services and monetization opportunities.

The company also committed to training 10 million AI talents over the next five years and introduced the third ERNIE Cup Innovation Challenge, offering prizes totaling 70 million RMB.

News Gist

Baidu launched ERNIE X1 Turbo and ERNIE 4.5 Turbo, offering faster, smarter, and cheaper AI services.

Supported by Kunlun chip clusters, Baidu also unveiled initiatives to empower developers and train 10 million AI talents.