Recently, NetEase Youdao made a significant breakthrough in translation technology by launching a 14B small-parameter vertical model based on its self-developed Ziyu translation large model 2.0. This launch marks a substantial improvement in Youdao's AI translation efficiency in terms of computational resource usage and adaptability to various application scenarios.
The advantage of the 14B small-parameter model lies in its lower computational resource consumption during both training and inference. This not only reduces deployment costs but also makes it easier to integrate into existing systems and devices. This technological innovation allows Youdao translation to serve a wider range of practical applications, from daily communication to professional translation needs.
This new model has been fully launched, and users can experience its convenience on platforms such as Youdao Dictionary, Youdao Translator, and Youdao Translator Officer. On these platforms, users can freely choose between standard and advanced models to meet different translation needs. Meanwhile, NetEase Youdao's smart hardware products, such as the Youdao Dictionary Pen X7 series, have also been upgraded, and updates for other models will be rolled out gradually.
NetEase Youdao's success in launching the 14B small-parameter vertical model is mainly attributed to technological innovation at the data level. The new model has collected a large amount of high-quality translation data, meticulously annotated by English professionals with Level 8 certification and professional translators, thus building a rich resource library of high-quality data. Furthermore, at the algorithm level, NetEase Youdao utilized the Ziyu large model for secondary pre-training, combined with several advanced technologies such as large model distillation and online direct preference optimization, significantly improving the model's operational efficiency and translation quality.
In terms of evaluation, Youdao developed a Reward Model for translation evaluation, providing quantitative evidence for translation results and establishing a comprehensive manual evaluation scheme. These technological improvements have enabled the Ziyu translation large model 2.0 to excel in Chinese-English mutual translation, particularly showing significant improvements in professionalism and stability compared to the previous version.
A Youdao spokesperson stated that compared to competitors' general-purpose large models, vertical models better meet the needs of professional scenarios, and they will continue to focus on this direction. It's worth mentioning that NetEase Youdao's translation products now have over 1 billion users, with over 100 million monthly active users, ranking first in the education tools category for six consecutive years, demonstrating its strong market competitiveness.