Chinese internet search giant Baidu and ChatGPT creator OpenAI are among the nascent field’s major players who have shifted their attention to open-source development, which would enable improved efficiency and a broader adoption of their AI products.
Baidu on Friday said the next generation of its Ernie LLM will be open source from June 30, according to a statement from the Beijing-based company, in a 180-degree turn from founder, chairman and chief executive Robin Li Yanhong ’s long-held backing of closed-source AI development.
That followed Baidu’s announcement on Thursday that its Ernie Bot service will be free to use from April 1 , providing wider access to the company’s Ernie LLMs. That will end a 17-month-long push to monetise the service, which currently charges users a monthly fee of 49.90 yuan (US$6.84) for access to the firm’s AI models.
Baidu did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
Baidu’s major shift in strategy reflects heightened competition in China’s AI market, where Hangzhou -based DeepSeek and internet peer Alibaba Group Holding have recently made big strides in the technology’s development and increased adoption. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post.