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Baidu, Inc. ( ; ) is a Chinese multinational technology company specializing in Internet services and artificial intelligence. It holds a dominant position in China's search engine market (via Baidu Search), and provides a wide variety of other internet services such as Baidu App (Baidu's flagship app for search and newsfeed), Baidu Baike (an online user created Wikipedia-like encyclopedia), iQIYI (a video streaming service), and Baidu Tieba (a keyword-based discussion forum similar to Reddit).
Besides its core internet search business, Baidu has diversified into several high-growth areas. The company is a player in autonomous driving (Baidu Apollo), and smart consumer electronics (Xiaodu). With over a decade of investment in artificial intelligence, Baidu is one of the few tech companies globally to offer a full-service AI stack, including software, chips, Cloud computing, foundation models, and applications.
A variable interest entity for Baidu to enable investment of foreign capital is incorporated in the Cayman Islands. Baidu was incorporated in January 2000 by Robin Li and Eric Xu. Baidu has origins in RankDex, an earlier search engine developed by Robin Li in 1996, before he founded Baidu in 2000. The company is headquartered in Beijing's Haidian District.
In December 2007, Baidu became the first Chinese company to be included in the NASDAQ-100 index. As of May 2018, Baidu's market cap rose to US$99 billion. In October 2018, Baidu became the first Chinese firm to join the United States–based computer ethics consortium Partnership on AI.
The Chinese government views Baidu as one of its national champion corporations.9780300266900, Yale University Press. ISBN 9780300266900
In 1996, while at IDD, Li developed the RankDex site-scoring algorithm for search engines results page ranking "About: RankDex" , rankdex.comGreenberg, Andy, "The Man Who's Beating Google" , Forbes magazine, 5 October 2009Yanhong Li, "Toward a Qualitative Search Engine," IEEE Internet Computing, vol. 2, no. 4, pp. 24–29, July/Aug. 1998, and received a US patent for the technology.USPTO, "Hypertext Document Retrieval System and Method" , US Patent number: 5920859, Inventor: Yanhong Li, Filing date: 5 February 1997, Issue date: 6 July 1999 Launched in 1996, RankDex was the first search engine that used hyperlinks to measure the quality of websites it was indexing. Li referred to his search mechanism as "link analysis," which involved ranking the popularity of a web site based on how many other sites had linked to it. It predated the similar PageRank algorithm used by Google two years later in 1998; Google founder Larry Page referenced Li's work as a citation in some of his U.S. patents for PageRank. Li later used his RankDex technology for the Baidu search engine.
Baidu was incorporated on 18 January 2000 by Robin Li and Eric Xu. In 2001, Baidu allowed advertisers to bid for ad space then pay Baidu every time a customer clicked on an ad, predating Google's approach to advertising. In 2003, Baidu launched a news search engine and picture search engine, adopting a special identification technology capable of identifying and grouping the articles.
In 2007, Chinese government and Chinese industry sources stated that Baidu received a license from Beijing, which allows the search engine to become a full-fledged news website. Thus Baidu is able to provide its own reports, besides showing certain results as a search engine. Baidu was the first Chinese search engine to receive such a license.
Baidu started its Japanese language search service, run by Baidu Japan, the company's first regular service outside of China in 2008. The Japanese search engine closed on 16 March 2015.
On 31 July 2012, Baidu announced that it would team up with Sina Corp to provide mobile search results.
On 18 November 2012, Baidu announced that it would be partnering with Qualcomm to offer free cloud storage to Android users with Snapdragon processors.
On 2 August 2013, Baidu launched its Personal Assistant app, designed to help CEOs, managers and the white-collar workers manage their business relationships. Baidu Launch Personal Assistant App for Android Phones , CHINA INTERNET WATCH, 6 August 2013
On 16 May 2014, Baidu appointed Andrew Ng as chief scientist. Dr. Ng will lead Baidu Research in Silicon Valley and Beijing.
On 18 July 2014, the company launched a Brazilian version of the search engine, Baidu Busca.
On 9 October 2014, Baidu announced acquisition of Brazilian local e-commerce site Peixe Urbano.
In June 2017, Baidu partnered with Continental AG and Bosch, auto industry suppliers, on automated driving and connected cars.
In July 2017, Baidu GBU entered into a partnership with Snap Inc. to act as the company's official ad reseller for Snapchat in Greater China, South Korea, Japan and Singapore. The partnership was extended in 2019.
In September 2017, Baidu rolled out a new portable talking translator that can listen and speak in several different languages. Smaller than a typical smartphone, the 140-gram translation device can also be used as a portable Wi-Fi router and is able to operate on networks in 80 countries. It is still under development. Baidu will also be inserting artificial intelligence (AI) technology into smartphones, through its deep learning platform. At the same period, it has also led a joint investment of US$12billion with Alibaba Group, Tencent, JD.com and Didi Chuxing, acquiring 35% of China Unicom's stakes.
In October 2017, according to The Wall Street Journal, Baidu would launch Apolong in China in 2018. In the same month, Baidu announced that its first annual Baidu World technology conference ( Bring AI to Life) would be held and live-streamed on 16 November 2017, at China World Summit Wing and Kerry Hotel, bringing together Baidu executives, employees, partners, developers, and media to discuss the company's mission and strategy, technology breakthroughs, new product developments, and its open artificial-intelligence (AI) ecosystem.
China's government designated Baidu as one of its "AI champions" in 2018.
In 2018, Baidu divested the "Global DU business" portion of its overseas business, which developed a series of utility apps including ES File Explorer, DU Caller, Mobojoy, Photo Wonder and DU Recorder, etc. This business now operates independently of Baidu under the name DO Global.
In August 2021 Baidu revealed a new Self-driving car concept said to be capable of Level 5 autonomous driving. It also comes with the latest second-generation AI chip that can analyse the internal and external surroundings to provide predictive suggestions to proactively serve the needs of passengers.
In June 2022, Jidu Auto, an intelligent electric vehicle company originally backed by Baidu and Geely unveiled its first concept ROBO-01 in the form of a pre-production vehicle. The ROBO-01 rides on the Sustainable Experience Architecture (SEA) platform, a modular electric vehicle platform developed by Geely Holding.
In August 2023, Baidu publicly unveiled Ernie Bot, its large language model chatbot. In October 2023, Baidu released a newer version Ernie 4.0 chatbot. In September 2023, the search engine launched a chatbot based on its generative AI model, GenAI Ernie.
Baidu sells its advertising products via a network of resellers. Baidu's web administrative tools are all in Chinese, making it difficult for non-Chinese speakers to use. In 2012, a third-party company developed a tool with an interface in English for advertising on Baidu. Advertisers on Baidu must have a registered business address either in China or in specified East Asian countries.
Baidu is the most used search engine in China, controlling 76.05 percent of China's market share. The number of Internet users in China had reached 705 million by the end of 2015, according to a report by the internetlivestats.com.
In an August 2010 Wall Street Journal article, Baidu played down its benefit from Google's having moved its China search service to Hong Kong, but Baidu's share of revenue in China's search-advertising market grew six percentage points in the second quarter to 70%, according to Beijing-based research firm Analysys International.
It is also evident that Baidu is attempting to enter the Internet social network market. , it is discussing the possibility of working with Facebook, which would lead to a Chinese version of the international social network, managed by Baidu. 传百度与Facebook签合作协议 – Baidu signed a cooperation agreement with Facebook , ThinkingChinese , 14 April 2011 This plan, if executed, would face off Baidu with competition from the three popular Chinese social networks Qzone, Renren and Kaixin001 as well as induce rivalry with instant-messaging giant, Tencent QQ. Baidu and QQ aren't willing to remain outside the Chinese Social Network market , ThinkingChinese , April 2011
On 22 February 2012, Hudong submitted a complaint to the State Administration for Industry and Commerce asking for a review of the behavior of Baidu, accusing it of being monopolistic.Yang, Yang (杨阳 Yáng Yáng). Translated by Guo Wei. " China's "Wikipedia" Submits Complaint about Baidu ." () The Economic Observer. 4 March 2011. Issue 508, Corporation, Page 28. Retrieved on 26 October 2012. Original article: " 百度：我是大哥 我不叫度娘 ." Febinframe.php Archive]
By August 2014, Baidu's search market share in China dropped to 56.3%, where Qihoo 360, its closest competitor who has rebranded its search engine as so.com, has increased its market share to 29.0%, according to report from CNZZ.com.
In February 2015, Baidu was alleged to have used anticompetitive tactics in Brazil against the Brazilian online security firm PSafe and Qihoo 360 (the largest investor of PSafe).
In an ongoing competition in AI natural language processing called General Language Understanding Evaluation, otherwise known as GLUE, Baidu took a lead over Microsoft and Google in December 2019.
In April 2012 Baidu JDC long live applied for a patent for its "DNA copyright recognition" technology. This technology automatically scans files that are uploaded by Internet users, and recognizes and filters out content that may violate copyright law. This allows Baidu to offer an infringement-free platform.
In April 2022, Baidu announced they gained permits from China to provide the first driverless taxis. The company aim to provide driverless ride-hailing services to the public and have 10 autonomous cars set to begin offering rides to passengers within a 23-square-mile area in suburban begin beginning 28 April 2022.
In July 2022, Baidu unveiled the Apollo RT6, a driverless vehicle that is planned to join Baidu's driverless fleet in 2023.
| 2015 SEC Filing Baidu 2019 p.3/4 | 66,382 | 64,037 | 2,345 | 33,664 | 147,853 | 80,256 | 41,467 |
| 2016 | 70,549 | 64,525 | 6,024 | 11,632 | 181,997 | 92,274 | 45,887 |
| 2017 | 84,809 | 73,146 | 11,663 | 18,301 | 251,728 | 115,346 | 39,343 |
| 2018 | 102,277 | 81,912 | 20,365 | 27,573 | 297,566 | 162,897 | 42,267 |
| 2019 | 107,413 | 78,093 | 29,320 | 2,057 | 301,316 | 163,599 | 37,779 |
| 2020 SEC Filing of Baidu 2024 p. 10/11 | 107,074 | 72,840 | 34,234 | 22,472 | 332,708 | 140,865 | 41,000 |
| 2021 | 124,493 | 80,695 | 43,798 | 10,226 | 380,034 | 156,082 | 45,500 |
| 2022 | 123,675 | 74,711 | 48,964 | 7,559 | 390,973 | 153,168 | 41,300 |
| 2023 | 134,598 | 81,203 | 53,395 | 20,315 | 406,759 | 144,151 | 39,800 |
| 2024 | 133,125 | 78,563 | 54,562 | 23,760 | 427,780 | 144,168 | 35,900 |
In May 2011, activists sued Baidu in the United States for violating the U.S. Constitution by the censorship it conducts in accord with the demand of the Chinese government.Jonathan Stempel, " China, Baidu Sued In U.S. For Internet Censorship ", Reuters, 19 May 2011. A U.S. judge has ruled that the Chinese search engine Baidu has the right to block works from its query results under freedom of speech rights, dismissing a lawsuit that sought to punish the company.
In 2017, Baidu began coordinating with the Chinese Ministry of Public Security as well as 372 Internet police departments to detect information related to "anti-government rumors" and then flooding "Baidu-linked web sites, news sites and devices with alerts dispelling misinformation." This was done using natural language processing, big data and artificial intelligence.
As part of the COVID-19 pandemic, Chinese regulators instructed Baidu, along with other Internet companies, to "conduct special supervision" on news and information related to the disease.
In November 2022, Sustainalytics downgraded Baidu to "non-compliant" with the United Nations Global Compact principles due to complicity with censorship.
After Wei's family spent around 200,000 yuan (around US$31,150) for treatment in the hospital, Wei Zexi died on 12 April 2016. The incident triggered massive online discussions after Wei's death. On 2 May 2016, Cyberspace Administration of China (CAC), the top watchdog for China's Internet space, dispatched a team of investigators to Baidu. The case is still ongoing. One report claimed medical advertising makes up for 30% of Baidu's ad revenue, much of which comes from for-profit hospitals that belong to the "Putian Network", a collection of hospitals across the country founded by medical entrepreneurs associated with the Putian region of Fujian province. The investigation led Chinese regulators to impose several restrictions on Baidu, including adding disclaimers to promotional content and establishing channels for complaints about Baidu services. In addition, Baidu's search function now largely directs users to contents published on platforms under Baidu's control, Chinese media scholar Fang Kecheng to proclaim that "Search engine Baidu is dead".
Google banned DO Global and more than 100 of its apps from the Google Play Store on 26 April 2019. DO Global was also banned from AdMob Network. Apps from another developer, ES Global, including the ES File Explorer, that were owned by DO Global were banned from the Play Store and the account was suspended.
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