Baidu, Inc. will open fully driverless robotaxi services to the public in Beijing starting from May 2, 2021, which will be China’s first paid autonomous vehicle service where users can hail a robotaxi without a safety driver behind the steering wheel, marking a landmark step on the road to commercialization of autonomous driving.
Baidu Inc.
Baidu, Inc. (Nasdaq: BIDU and HKEX: 9888) is one of the top technology companies in China.
Talking about technology companies, BAT used to be the acronym that was always referred to in China. But, Baidu has much smaller market cap in recent years. It's been rebuilding its business and now its strength goes well beyond search.
In the field of search, Baidu never lacks challengers.
Considering that the search business is most closely related to the direct needs of users, in recent years, all major Internet companies have focused on the search business while building their own ecology and usage loop.
The recent challenges are ByteDance's Douyin search and Tencent's WeChat search.
According to the latest data, baidu app's monthly active users reached 560 million in March 2021, steadily rising again compared with the end of last year.
Based on its smart search, Baidu is entering more sectors including e-commerce, live streaming, healthcare, etc.
Baidu's core search business once faced a short-term crisis because it missed the general trend of mobile Internet from 2017 to 2019; and, the growth rate of Baidu's core main business search advertising showed a fluctuating downward trend.
2019 was Baidu's year of change. The drastic changes of personnel and organization sent a strong signal of Baidu's "turning around".
After the formal establishment of mobile eco-business group (MEG), SHEN Dou, executive vice president of Baidu group, led the strategic reconstruction of Baidu mobile ecology, with Baidu app as the core, search + newsfeed as the dual engine, relying on Baijiahao content network + smart mini-program framework + landing page tools as the three pillars.
As of March 2021, Baidu app saw 560 million MAU; Baijiahao content network has over 4.2 million creators; and, the number of mini programs reached 660,000 in 271 industries.
Baidu's mobile ecosystem now includes Baidu app, video apps Haokan and iQiyi, social platform Baidu Tieba, and Baidu Maps.
Baidu app MAU reached 558 million in Q1 2021
In March 2021, the number of active users of Baidu app reached 558 million, with daily login users accounting for more than 75%, according to Baidu’s announcement at Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
Mini Program platforms 2021: WeChat vs. Alibaba vs. Baidu
Mini Programs (MP) are light applications designed to run on top of a specific mobile app. Top technology companies in China have designed and run their own mini-program framework; and, the most popular ones include WeChat platform, Alibaba (Alipay platform; Taobao platform), Baidu Smart Program, and QuickApp. Lifestyle service is the most popular category on […]
Mobile reach in 2021: Tencent, Alibaba, Baidu, ByteDance, Kuaishou
Tencent has the highest reach of 96.3% of China mobile internet users in 2020. Alibaba and Baidu reach 95% and 91% mobile internet users respectively while ByteDance follows closely with over 67% reach.
China cloud infrastructure service market share in Q4 2020
Cloud infrastructure services spending increased 32% to US$39.9 billion in Q4 2020, following heightened customer investment with the major cloud service providers and the technology channel, according to Canalys.
China online advertising market overview 2020/2021
China’s online advertising market grew over 14% in 2020 to 496.6 billion yuan (about US$76.36 billion). Top industries by total online advertising spend in 2020 are Make & Skincare, F&B, Online Shopping, Transportation, and Education. China’s advertising market will grow 11.2% in 2021 and online segment will grow about 10.5%. Top 10 WeChat Moments ads, […]
China smart speaker market overview 2021
In 2020, the smart speaker market in China sold 36.76 million units, a year-on-year decrease of 8.6%; among them, smart speakers with screens accounted for 35.5% and sales increased by 31.0%, according to data from IDC. Baidu leads the smart speakers (with screens) market, followed by Alibaba and Xiaomi. The overall market share this time […]
Baidu launched autonomous driving MaaS platform with five models
Baidu Apollo topped industry peers across every testing category for the third consecutive year according to Beijing Autonomous Vehicles Road Test Report 2020.
7 Chinese companies made it to Forbes Blockchain 50 list in 2021
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Top search trends in China in 2020
The most searched 10 keywords on Baidu related to technology in 2020 are mask facial recognition, quantum computing, virtual human, brain-computer interface, driverless taxi, industrial Internet of Things, cloud server, industrial intelligence, artificial neural networks, smart traffic lights.
Baidu holds the most AI-related patents in China
Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) holds the most AI-related patents and has filed the most AI-related patent applications of any company or organization in China, according to a recent study published by China’s Ministry of Industry and Information Technology (MIIT). Baidu has been granted 2,682 AI-related patents and has filed a total of 9,364 AI-related patent applications […]
Baidu earns first permit for fully driverless road tests in Beijing
Baidu Apollo was granted permission by Beijing transportation authorities for five of its vehicles to conduct fully driverless road tests.
Top 100 best Chinese brands in 2020, led by Alibaba and Tencent
In a year of exceptional pressure on growth, the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Chinese Brands gained 12% in value, in the 10th edition of the ranking revealed by WPP and Kantar. The Top 100 best Chinese brands increased their worth by $106.8 billion to reach $996.4 billion, demonstrating the resilience of strong famous brands […]
Baidu won the bid for the largest domestic intelligent transportation project
Apollo intelligent travel technology (Guangzhou) Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of Baidu Apollo, won the bid of “new infrastructure project of intelligent transportation for automatic driving and vehicle road coordination” in Guangzhou Development Zone, Huangpu District, Guangzhou.
China’s mobile search market overview 2020
The number of mobile search users grew to 705 million in 2019 in China, according to a Chinese research company iiMedia. Baidu has the largest market share reaching over 70% mobile users in China, followed by Shenma and Sogou. The actual spending on search advertisements in China was 1.13 times higher than the budget. Over […]