Baidu (BIDU-SW), the Chinese search engine giant, saw its shares surge by 5.04% in intraday trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. The significant uptick comes as the company announced the launch of its latest artificial intelligence models, demonstrating its commitment to staying at the forefront of the AI race in China.

The tech titan unveiled two new AI models on Friday: Ernie 4.5 Turbo, an upgrade to its existing large language model, and Ernie X1 Turbo, a new reasoning model. These releases mark Baidu's latest effort to bolster its AI product offerings amid intensifying competition in the Chinese AI market. The announcement has clearly resonated with investors, driving the stock's impressive performance.

As the AI sector continues to heat up globally, Baidu's strategic move to enhance its AI capabilities appears to be well-received by the market. The company's shares have responded positively to this development, reflecting investor confidence in Baidu's ability to maintain its competitive edge in the rapidly evolving AI landscape. As the trading session progresses, market participants will be keenly watching to see if this momentum can be sustained.