Beijing, China – February 6, 2025 – Baidu Smart Cloud announced on February 3rd the availability of DeepSeek-R1 and DeepSeek-V3 models on its Qianfan Platform, accompanied by the promise of industry-leading, ultra-low inference pricing. The move has proven immediately popular, with over 15,000 customers utilizing the models through the Qianfan Platform on the very first day.
This rapid adoption underscores the growing demand for accessible and cost-effective large language models (LLMs) across various industries. Baidu Smart Cloud is addressing this demand by deeply integrating performance optimization techniques for inference engines, innovative inference service engineering architecture, and comprehensive security measures throughout the inference service chain. This integration allows for significant cost reduction, making advanced AI capabilities more attainable for a wider range of businesses.
Specifically, the pricing for accessing DeepSeek-V3 through the Qianfan Platform is offered at just 30% of the official list price, while DeepSeek-R1 is available at 50% of its official list price. This aggressive pricing strategy is a key factor in the platform’s initial success.
The Qianfan Large Model Platform, touted as the world’s first one-stop enterprise-grade large model platform, has seen significant traction. As of November 2024, the platform boasts over 33,000 fine-tuned models, over 770,000 enterprise application developments, and an average daily call volume of over 1.5 billion for the Wenxin large model.
These applications span a diverse range of sectors, including finance, government affairs, automotive, and general internet technology. Baidu Smart Cloud aims to provide enterprise customers with a convenient, efficient, and economical experience in using and developing large models.
Currently, users can log in to Baidu Smart Cloud’s Qianfan ModelBuilder to experience the platform. (Experience address: https://cloud.baidu.com/doc/WENXINWORKSHOP/s/qm6oyumhw)
Conclusion:
Baidu Smart Cloud’s strategic move to offer DeepSeek R1/V3 at significantly reduced prices on its Qianfan platform highlights the increasing commoditization of AI and the growing importance of cloud platforms in democratizing access to advanced AI models. The rapid adoption seen on launch day suggests a strong market appetite for cost-effective LLM solutions, and Baidu Smart Cloud is well-positioned to capitalize on this trend. Future research should focus on the long-term impact of such pricing strategies on the AI landscape and the potential for further innovation driven by increased accessibility.
References:
- Baidu Smart Cloud Official Announcement (February 3, 2025)
- Machine Heart Report (February 6, 2025)
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