Baidu Unveils ERNIE 5.0 and a Series of AI Applications at Baidu World 2025, Ramps Up Global Push

Rhea-AI Summary

Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) unveiled ERNIE 5.0, a natively omni-modal foundation model that jointly models text, images, audio, and video, with a public preview via ERNIE Bot and enterprise access through Baidu AI Cloud MaaS Qianfan on Nov 13, 2025. The company announced product upgrades including GenFlow 3.0, Famou (a commercially available self-evolving agent by invitation), Oreate workspace, MeDo/Miaoda no-code builders, and global rollouts of digital human technology. Key metrics cited: Apollo Go >17 million rides, GenFlow 20 million users, 70% of Top 1 search results in rich media, Miaoda >400,000 apps, and Oreate 1.2 million users.

Positive

• Apollo Go completed over 17 million rides globally
• GenFlow exceeds 20 million users
• ERNIE 5.0 omni-modal preview available to public and enterprises
• Miaoda/MeDo enabled creation of over 400,000 applications
• 70% of Top 1 search results now presented in rich media

Negative

• None.

Insights

AI Product Strategist

Baidu's ERNIE 5.0 and broad product rollouts materially expand its AI stack and commercial reach, with multiple measurable user and usage milestones.

ERNIE 5.0 is a natively omni-modal foundation model that jointly models text, images, audio, and video and is previewed via ERNIE Bot and Baidu AI Cloud's MaaS platform Qianfan. Complementary launches include upgraded digital humans, Miaoda/MeDo no-code builders, GenFlow 3.0 with >20 million users, Oreate workspace with >1.2 million users, and Famou, a commercially available self-evolving agent via invitation.

Key usage and scale signals reported are concrete: Apollo Go exceeded 17 million cumulative rides with weekly rides >250,000 and >240 million kilometers driven; approximately 70% of Top 1 search results now use rich media; Miaoda has generated >400,000 applications. These metrics support commercial traction across consumer mobility, search, and developer tools.

Dependencies and risks are executional and regulatory: successful global rollouts of MeDo, Oreate, and digital human tech require localization and partner integrations; Famou’s invitation model limits near-term reach; autonomous driving scale depends on continued safe operations. Monitor the public preview availability on Nov. 13, 2025, MeDo adoption via medo.dev, Famou invitation expansion, and Apollo Go weekly ride trends over the next several quarters.

• ERNIE 5.0 is the latest foundation model of the company. As a natively omni-modal model, ERNIE 5.0 jointly models text, images, audio, and videos.
• Baidu announced upgrades to its digital human technology, no-code application builder Miaoda, and general AI agent GenFlow, while unveling the self-evolving agent Famou along with the one-stop AI workspace Oreate, with select offerings such as MeDo and the digital human technology rolling out to global markets.
• Apollo Go, the company's autonomous ride-hailing service, has completed over 17 million cumulative rides, the world's largest.

BEIJING, Nov. 13, 2025 /PRNewswire/ -- Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and HKEX: 9888), a leading AI company with a strong internet foundation, today unveiled the natively omni-modal foundation model, ERNIE 5.0, at its annual flagship event, Baidu World 2025. ERNIE 5.0 jointly models text, images, audio, and videos for comprehensive multimodal understanding and generation. The company also introduced a suite of AI products and services and announced plans to roll out select products to global markets.

At the event, Baidu introduced upgrades for a suite of AI products, including its next-generation real-time digital human, an enhanced 2.0 version of its no-code application builder Miaoda, a revamped Baidu Search experience powered by more intelligent capabilities, and the general AI agent GenFlow 3.0. It also unveiled Famou, a self-evolving AI agent, and announced plans to roll out products such as the digital human technology, no-code application builder MeDo, one-stop AI workspace Oreate to global markets.

Robin Li, Co-founder and CEO of Baidu, highlighted the importance of internalizing AI capabilities in every facet of the modern workflow. "When you internalize AI, it becomes a native capability and transforms intelligence from a cost into a source of productivity," Li explained. "We should focus on integrating AI with every task we do to make it a native driving force for corporate and personal growth."

Highlighting the value of AI application innovation, Li stated the industry structure is shifting towards a healthy "inverted pyramid" where applications create 100x the value of foundation models. "The past year has witnessed model capabilities evolving significantly beyond the confines of AI chatbots. We have observed substantial advancements not only in areas like digital human technology and code agents but also in the autonomous evolution and global optimization for general-purpose scenarios," Li said.

ERNIE 5.0, a Natively Omni-modal Foundation Model Built for Joint Input and Output Across Modalities

As the latest-gen foundation model of the ERNIE series, ERNIE 5.0 is built upon natively unified omni-modal modeling technology. From the ground up, it jointly models text, images, audio, and video, achieving comprehensive multimodal understanding and generation. With fully upgraded foundational abilities, ERNIE 5.0 excels in multimodal understanding, instruction following, creative writing, factual reasoning, agentic planning, and tool use. The preview of the ERNIE 5.0 model is now available to the public via ERNIE Bot and to enterprise users via Baidu AI Cloud's MaaS platform Qianfan.

Li noted that foundation models are iterating rapidly, as evidenced by continuous breakthroughs in intelligence limits, increased model "thinking-time," the native integration of multiple modalities, and the ability for self-learning and evolution. "AI agents themselves are the most significant applications, and the speed of technological iteration is the only competitive moat," he said. "We will continue to invest in advancing the frontier models, pushing the boundaries of intelligence to new heights."

Apollo Go Robotaxi Reaches Over 17 million Rides Globally, The World's Largest

Baidu's autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, has completed over 17 million rides globally, making it the largest in the world. Its weekly ride count recently surpassed 250,000, all of which are fully driverless. To date, the fleets have logged more than 240 million kilometers of autonomous driving, with over 140 million kilometers driven in fully driverless mode. Apollo Go's global footprint now spans 22 cities.

Autonomous driving is reshaping urban life, and will transform not only transportation but the broader social ecosystem, Li noted. He explained that as robotaxi costs continue to fall, greater affordability is expected to significantly boost demand. "Autonomous vehicles will become new mobile living spaces, opening up countless possibilities," he said.

70% of Top 1 Search Results Presented in Rich Media; GenFlow 3.0 is Now the World's Largest General Agent by User Base

Baidu Search has undertaken the most aggressive AI transformation of any search engine globally, with approximately 70% of the Top 1 search results now presented in rich media format. "We used AI to reconstruct the search results page—not by simply inserting AI summaries, but by transforming search from a text-and-link-based application into an AI application centered on rich media like images and videos, " Li said.

The company is also opening its AI search capabilities via AI API, which is becoming a foundational technology for the industry. It is already being used by 625 partners via Baidu AI Cloud, including major brands like Samsung, Honor, and vivo.

The company's AI-powered productivity applications, Baidu Wenku and Baidu Drive, are also prime examples of AI-reconstructed businesses. GenFlow, a general AI agent built to simplify complex tasks and workflows, unveiled its 3.0 update. With more than 20 million users, GenFlow is now the world's largest general-purpose agent. GenFlow 3.0 boasts a much enhanced multimodality and memory capability, enabling the joint input, processing, and output of content across all modalities.

Baidu also introduced Oreate, its one-stop AI workspace for study and productivity designed for the international market. It employs a multi-agent architecture capable of end-to-end creation across all scenarios and modalities, covering documents, slides, images, videos, and podcasts. The platform has attracted over 1.2 million users across global markets.

No-Code Application Builder MeDo Launches Globally; Digital Human Tech Debuts in Brazil

Baidu's no-code application builder Miaoda has been upgraded to version 2.0, which has already been used to generate over 400,000 applications. Miaoda's international version, MeDo, was also launched at the event. It is now available for global developers via medo.dev.

The company also announced it will make its digital human technology globally available. The technology has debuted in Brazil and is exploring expansion opportunities into key markets such as the U.S. and Southeast Asia, and platforms such as Shopee and Lazada.

The company also unveiled its new real-time interactive digital human, which not only deeply understands real-world context and provides instant feedback, but also expresses natural emotions with full-modal alignment during interactions. During this year's "Double 11" shopping festival, 83% of livestreamers used Baidu's digital human technology, driving a 119% year-over-year increase in participating livestreams and a 91% GMV (Gross Merchandise Volume) boost. In Li's view, AI digital humans are a foundational technology and a "universal interaction interface for the AI era."

Baidu Launches Famou, the World's First Commercially Available Self-evolving Agent

The conference also witnessed the debut of Famou, the world's first commercially available self-evolving agent. Famou can simulate and even surpass a top algorithm expert, able to quickly abstract complex problems and iterate automatically as conditions change to provide a dynamic optimal solution. It can be applied in complex scenarios across transportation, energy, finance, and logistics. Famou is now officially available through invitation codes. Users can apply for access by visiting famou.com.

About Baidu

Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company with strong internet foundation, trading on the NASDAQ under "BIDU" and HKEX under "9888." One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A ordinary shares.

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SOURCE Baidu, Inc.

FAQ

What is ERNIE 5.0 and when did Baidu (BIDU) unveil it?

ERNIE 5.0 is a natively omni-modal foundation model jointly modeling text, images, audio, and video; it was unveiled on Nov 13, 2025 with a public preview via ERNIE Bot.

How many rides has Baidu's Apollo Go completed and where does it operate?

Apollo Go has completed over 17 million cumulative rides, logged >240 million km, and operates in 22 cities globally.

How large is GenFlow's user base after the 3.0 update?

GenFlow 3.0 is reported to have more than 20 million users.

What global rollout milestones did Baidu announce for MeDo, Oreate, and digital humans?

Baidu launched MeDo (international Miaoda), introduced Oreate workspace with >1.2 million global users, and began digital human deployments starting in Brazil.

What commercial availability did Baidu announce for Famou (BIDU)?

Famou, described as a commercially available self-evolving agent, is now accessible by invitation codes with applications via famou.com.

What performance impact did Baidu cite from its digital human technology during Double 11?

During Double 11, 83% of livestreamers used the digital human technology, driving a 119% YoY increase in participating livestreams and a 91% GMV boost.