Baidu launches ERNIE Wizshot and Light Deep Thinking models, debuts Token Exchange marketplace

Baidu unveiled two new ERNIE models for video generation and fast agentic reasoning, plus a token marketplace that already handles over 700 billion tokens daily after one month in operation.

Baidu announced two new ERNIE models, Wizshot Micro-Expression and Light Deep Thinking, together with a new AI marketplace called Token Exchange, on November 12, 2026, according to a press release distributed via PR Newswire.

What Baidu added

ERNIE Wizshot Micro-Expression specializes in expressive video generation from text, images, and speech.
Wizshot Micro-Expression accepts text input of up to 4,000 Chinese characters.
Baidu says Wizshot leads the industry for podcasts and short animated dramas at half the typical cost.
ERNIE Light Deep Thinking pairs a fast-thinking model that serves users with a slow-thinking model that continuously refines it in a closed loop.
Light Deep Thinking uses Baidu Sparse Attention (BSA), a proprietary technique that compresses historical memory during decoding to cut inference cost.
Both new models are available via API on Baidu AI Cloud's Qianfan platform.

What it means for people who build with AI

For developers working on Baidu's Qianfan platform, the release adds both new content-generation options and a new monetization layer. Wizshot gives teams a dedicated path for producing podcasts and short animated dramas, and Light Deep Thinking offers a lower-latency reasoning option for agentic workloads. Token Exchange is a separate marketplace layer that connects AI model providers to customers, distinct from Baidu's separately announced ERNIE 5.5 Flash model.

Token Exchange's scale so far

Baidu describes Token Exchange as a neutral, transparent, and trusted marketplace connecting AI model providers to customers. After one month of operation, it has onboarded more than 100 model resources and now handles more than 50 million API calls and more than 700 billion tokens daily.

Sources

Baidu Unveils Latest ERNIE Models Amid Broader Full-Stack AI Lineup and Debuts Token Exchange to Power Intelligent Organizations (Baidu (via PR Newswire), November 12, 2026, official)

Written with AI assistance, strictly from the sources listed above. Before it went live, automated checks verified its dates, sources and every language edition.