What Baidu does

Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU; HKEX: 9888), headquartered in Beijing and operating as Beijing Baidu Netcom Science & Technology Co., Ltd. (北京百度网讯科技有限公司), is a publicly listed Chinese-language internet platform company that has repositioned itself as a full-stack AI provider. Its business spans the flagship Baidu Search portal (百度搜索) and a large consumer product suite (Baidu Maps, Baike, Tieba, Haokan Video, Wenku, Netdisk, DuerOS/Xiaodu), the Wenxin (ERNIE) family of large language models anchored by the Wenxin Yiyan (文心一言) chatbot, Baidu AI Cloud infrastructure, proprietary Kunlunxin (昆仑芯) AI accelerator chips, and the Apollo Go Level 4 autonomous ride-hailing service operating across 27 cities with over 22 million cumulative rides and 330 million+ km of autonomous mileage. The technology stack integrates deep learning-based ranking and recommendation systems, computer vision (including a novel Unlimited-OCR model with Reference Sliding Window Attention), speech recognition, multi-agent AI avatars (Baidu Yijing), and embedded assistant OS distribution via DuerOS.

Baidu monetizes through a hybrid revenue model: traditional online advertising across its search and content surfaces (still a major contributor alongside Google, Meta, and Amazon in the digital advertising competitive landscape); AI Cloud infrastructure delivered usage-based through Baidu AI Cloud (revenue +79% YoY in Q1 2026, supported by Kunlunxin chips); AI-powered core business (RMB 13.6B in Q1 2026, +49% YoY) covering Wenxin LLM subscriptions, intelligent marketing, and vertical AI solutions; per-trip Apollo Go robotaxi fees; Kunlunxin AI chip sales to external customers including Tencent and ByteDance (in talks); and capital-markets activity including a US$2 billion exchangeable bond issuance due 2032. Its customer base spans mass-market Chinese internet consumers, enterprise AI/cloud buyers (Coca-Cola China, China FAW, Huawei Cloud, GBI Health), automotive OEMs, mobility riders, government/public-sector entities (Swiss Post's PostBus, Chinese ministries), and chip customers. The company distributes through direct-to-consumer web/mobile properties, enterprise field sales for AI Cloud and chips, embedded partnerships (DuerOS, Baidu Maps SDKs), and ride-hailing channel partnerships (Lyft and Uber in London, PostBus in Switzerland) — with a primary headquarters at No. 10, 10th Street, Shangdi, Haidian District, Beijing and a global footprint spanning China, Switzerland, the UK, Hong Kong, and the United States (NASDAQ listing).

Name

Baidu

Legal name

北京百度网讯科技有限公司 (Beijing Baidu Netcom Science & Technology Co., Ltd.)

Website

https://baidu.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

5,001–10,000 employees

Short description

Baidu is a Beijing-based publicly listed Chinese-language internet platform company (NASDAQ: BIDU) that operates the flagship Baidu Search portal, the Wenxin/ERNIE family of LLMs, Baidu AI Cloud, proprietary Kunlunxin AI chips, and the Apollo Go Level 4 robotaxi service for mass-market Chinese consumers, global enterprise AI customers, and mobility riders.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Internet Search and AI Platform

NAICS

Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (519290), Web Search Portals and All Other Information Services (51929)

akta.pro primary industry

End-to-End Enterprise AI Platforms (MLOps & Model Lifecycle Management) (HDAEANAA)

akta.pro secondary industries

AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ), Enterprise AI Data & Knowledge Platforms (Vector Databases, Knowledge Graphs) (HDAEANAH), AI Integration & Orchestration Platforms (Connectors, Workflow, iPaaS for AI) (HDAEANAI), Search Engines (BPAMAAAB), Content Authenticity, Watermarking & Deepfake Detection (HDAAAKAK)

Keywords

• Search engine services
• AI cloud platform
• Online advertising
• Autonomous driving solutions
• Large language models

Headquarters

HQ city

Beijing

HQ country

China

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Online Advertising: Baidu's traditional online advertising business (search ads, display, and information feed ads on Baidu's core search platform) remains a major revenue contributor; the company is identified as one of the major players shaping the digital advertising competitive landscape alongside Google, Meta, and Amazon.
2. AI Cloud Infrastructure: AI Cloud Infra revenue grew 79% year-over-year in Q1 2026, driven by strong GPU cloud demand. AI Cloud infrastructure is offered through Baidu AI Cloud (cloud.baidu.com) and supported by the Kunlunxin AI chip line.
3. AI-Powered Core Business: Baidu's core AI-powered business revenue reached RMB13.6 billion in Q1 2026, up 49% year-over-year, now accounting for the majority of Baidu's core General Business revenues — covering Wenxin LLM subscriptions, AI Cloud, intelligent marketing, and vertical AI solutions.
4. Apollo Go Robotaxi Rides: Baidu's Apollo Go robotaxi service completed 3.2 million orders in Q1 2026 (120% YoY growth) with peak weekly orders surpassing 350,000 in March 2026; rides are monetized on a per-trip basis across 27 cities globally including Switzerland and the UK.
5. AI Chip Sales (Kunlunxin): Kunlunxin supplies AI inference chips to external customers such as Tencent and is in active discussions with ByteDance; the business is being prepared for a separate IPO via a dual listing on Shanghai STAR Market and Hong Kong exchanges.
6. Exchangeable Bonds (Capital Markets): Baidu priced US$2 billion in aggregate principal amount of exchangeable bonds due 2032 in offshore transactions outside the US, with closing expected around March 12, 2025, providing capital for ongoing operations and expansion.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Baidu operates one of China's largest internet search engines and a suite of AI-powered products and services. Its core offerings span search and advertising, AI cloud infrastructure, autonomous driving (Apollo Go), large language models (ERNIE), consumer applications (Maps, Baike, Tieba), and enterprise AI solutions including Kunlunxin AI chips.

Product overview

Baidu operates a multi-product platform anchored on its core Chinese-language search engine (百度搜索), with a wide portfolio spanning AI, cloud, autonomous driving, content/community, vertical services, and associated-company businesses. The core AI stack — Wenxin Yiyan (文心一言) for generative AI, Baidu Brain (百度大脑) as the AI open platform, Baidu Speech (百度语音) for speech, the Unlimited-OCR document-intelligence model, and DuerOS/小度 as the agent operating system — is exposed to developers and consumers through Baidu Cloud (百度智能云) and the Baidu Search API (专为生成式AI提供检索服务). Autonomous mobility is delivered by Apollo Go (including the Switzerland AmiGo service with PostBus and London trials with Lyft), while custom silicon is offered through Kunlunxin (昆仑芯), which Baidu is planning to spin off. Community and content products include Baike (百科), Tieba (贴吧), Zhidao (知道), Wenku (文库), Haokan Video (好看视频) and Baijiahao (百家号); vertical offerings include Baidu Health (百度健康), Aicaigou (爱采购) B2B, Aiqicha (爱企查) enterprise lookup, Chengpian (橙篇) AI writing, Miaoda (秒哒) AI-app agent, Yijing (百度伊景) multi-agent AI avatar, Yoojia (有驾) auto info, Aifanfan (爱番番) marketing, and Baidu Maps (百度地图). Affiliate products — Du Xiaoman (度小满) fintech and iQiyi (爱奇艺) video — share data with Baidu for cross-platform personalization. The 2023 acquisition of GBI Health adds medical-data capabilities for the healthcare vertical.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Baidu Search (百度搜索): Core Chinese-language search engine, the company's flagship product
• Baidu Maps (百度地图)
• Baidu Tieba (百度贴吧)
• Baidu Baike (百度百科)
• Baidu Wenku (百度文库)
• Baidu Wangpan (百度网盘)
• Baidu Translate (百度翻译)
• Baidu Academic (百度学术)
• Baidu Health (百度健康)
• Baidu Cloud (百度智能云)
• Wen Xin Yiyan / 文心一言 (ERNIE Bot)
• Apollo Go
• Kunlunxin (昆仑芯)
• DuerOS / Xiaodu (小度)
• Du Xiaoman (度小满)
• iQIYI (爱奇艺)
• Yijing (一镜 / Baidu Yijing)
• hao123
• Haokan Video (好看视频)
• Baidu Input Method (百度输入法)
• Ruliu (如流)
• Aiqicha (爱企查)
• Aicaigou (爱采购)
• Chengpian (橙篇)
• Youjia / 有驾

Products and services

• Baidu Search

Quantifiable outcome

• 3.2 million Apollo Go robotaxi orders in Q1 2026, 120% YoY growth, with peak weekly orders surpassing 350,000
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration6 records

AI capability18 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Ten partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Swiss Post (PostBus)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Joint venture AmiGo with Swiss Post's PostBus to operate Level 4 autonomous ride-pooling in eastern Switzerland across an 80 km² area in the cantons of St. Gallen, Appenzell Ausserrhoden, and Appenzell Innerrhoden. Baidu supplies Apollo Go electric RT6 vehicles and L4 technology; PostBus contributes public transport expertise and customer base. The service aims to be Europe's largest automated public transport operation of its kind by early 2027.
• LyftflagshipChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 June 2026Baidu will begin testing Apollo Go autonomous vehicles in London through Lyft, with commercial operations targeted for 2026. Lyft manages fleet and app operations while Baidu produces vehicles and provides L4 autonomous driving technology. This represents Baidu's first commercial robotaxi deployment in Europe and the first cross-border commercial robotaxi showdown in London between Waymo, Baidu, and Wayve.
• Coca-Cola ChinacoreGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2026Coca-Cola China partnered with Baidu Yijing (Baidu's multi-agent AI avatar platform) to launch a 2026 FIFA World Cup marketing campaign featuring a 24/7 real-time interactive AI avatar of Chinese football legend Fan Zhiyi. The AI avatar recreates likeness, expressions, and voice for ongoing fan engagement, representing a shift from traditional celebrity endorsement to AI-powered consumer engagement in FMCG.
• Huawei CloudcoreTechnology or Integration · 1 June 2026Baidu is one of 20+ model developers participating in Huawei Cloud's AI Model Partner Program, supporting Huawei's Agentic Infra paradigm with Wenxin models for vertical productivity use cases in healthcare, embodied intelligence, and confidential computing for government and financial sectors.
• China FAW (Changchun municipal plan)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026Under Changchun's 15th Five-Year Plan, China FAW is prioritized to deepen strategic partnerships with Baidu (along with Leapmotor, Huawei, DJI, and iFlytek) to develop all-solid-state batteries, autonomous driving, and multimodal interaction systems.
• ByteDancecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 June 2026ByteDance is in talks with Baidu to purchase AI inference chips from the Kunlunxin subsidiary for ByteDance's Doubao chatbot. A deal would make Kunlunxin one of ByteDance's major domestic AI chip suppliers alongside Huawei and Cambricon.
• Royal Foundation United for Wildlife (Prince William forum)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 June 2026Baidu joined major tech companies including Google, Meta, TikTok, Amazon, Alibaba, eBay, Etsy, and Pinterest at a Royal Foundation forum in London during Climate Action Week, publicly committing to end wildlife trafficking on their platforms for the first time.
• iQIYI (Baidu affiliate)coreOEM/ Whitelabel/ Licensing Partner · 1 January 2026iQIYI (Baidu's affiliated online video service) shares viewing habit and preference data with Baidu core search to deliver consistent and personalized viewing, advertising, and other services across Baidu's Haokan Video, short video products, and iQIYI.
• TencentflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 March 2025Tencent is already an existing customer of Baidu's Kunlunxin AI chips for inference workloads. This relationship gives Kunlunxin a marquee reference customer and underpins Baidu's chip spin-off/IPO plans on the Shanghai STAR Market and Hong Kong exchanges.
• GBI HealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2023Baidu acquired GBI Health, a medical commercial solutions provider whose data product matrix established a diversified market information solution portfolio for pharmaceutical companies, equipment companies, and other service providers. The acquisition aims to build an AI-powered medical big data platform integrated with Baidu's Wenxin Yiyan chatbot and create a comprehensive AI application model for healthcare.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Microsoft: Microsoft Bing competes with Baidu Search globally; Azure competes with Baidu AI Cloud; the OpenAI partnership and Copilot stack parallel Wenxin and DuerOS. Microsoft is a broader incumbent whose enterprise footprint and capital base exceed Baidu's, but its core AI/search overlap is direct.
• Huawei: Huawei's Ascend AI chips, Pangu models, and Huawei Cloud are direct competitors to Kunlunxin, Wenxin, and Baidu AI Cloud. Baidu is also a partner in Huawei's AI Model Partner Program, making the relationship simultaneously competitive and cooperative across the domestic AI stack.

Direct peers

• WeRide: WeRide is a leading Chinese L4 robotaxi company ranked fourth on the Autnmy AI Road to Autonomy Index, operating commercial autonomous ride-hailing in China and expanding internationally. It competes with Apollo Go across both Chinese and select international markets.
• Alphabet (Google): Alphabet is Baidu's most direct global analog: dominant search engine, large advertising business, proprietary AI silicon (TPUs), Gemini LLMs, Google Cloud, and Waymo robotaxi. The two companies compete head-to-head in the global Road to Autonomy Index where Apollo Go now ranks ahead of Waymo.
• ByteDance: ByteDance's Doubao LLM is one of China's leading generative AI products, and the company is a major Chinese AI chip buyer (in talks to purchase Kunlunxin chips). ByteDance is both a direct AI competitor and a strategic customer relationship for Baidu's silicon business.
• Waymo (Alphabet): Waymo is Apollo Go's primary robotaxi competitor globally. Both operate commercial L4 ride-hailing services, with Apollo Go ranked #1 on the Autnmy Road to Autonomy Index narrowly ahead of Waymo. The two companies are also set to compete directly in London in 2026.
• Pony.ai: Pony.ai is one of China's leading robotaxi operators, ranked third globally on the Autnmy AI Road to Autonomy Index. It operates commercial robotaxi services in major Chinese cities and competes with Apollo Go for robotaxi permits, fleet scale, and enterprise partnerships.
• Tencent: Tencent's Hunyuan LLM, Tencent Cloud, and AI chip initiatives directly compete with Baidu's AI stack. Tencent is also an existing Kunlunxin chip customer, making it both a competitor in AI cloud/models and a customer for Baidu's silicon.
• Alibaba: Alibaba's Aliyun cloud, Qwen LLM family, and digital advertising business compete directly with Baidu AI Cloud, Wenxin, and Baidu Marketing. Alibaba was added alongside Baidu to the U.S. 1260H list and is the closest peer in scale, listing structure, and regulatory exposure.

Emerging players

• Cambricon: Cambricon is a leading Chinese AI accelerator chip designer competing with Kunlunxin for domestic AI inference workloads, including a reported role in ByteDance's chip supply chain. It is a comparable emerging player in the same domestic AI silicon category that Kunlunxin is seeking to dominate ahead of its planned IPO.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/BaiduResearch
• Facebookfacebook.com/Baidu-8096389511
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/baidu-inc

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Subsidiaries6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors10 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A17 records

Investments142 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Baidu