top of page

Baidu Reports 50% AI Revenue Increase Amid Third-Quarter Financial Slump

  • tech360.tv
  • 1 hour ago
  • 2 min read

Chinese internet search giant Baidu reported a 50% increase in artificial intelligence-related revenue for the third quarter, a bright spot in an otherwise lacklustre financial period. The Beijing-based company’s third-quarter revenue declined 7% year on year to 31.2 billion yuan, or USD 4.4 billion, owing to sluggish advertising demand, while its net loss hit 11.2 billion yuan on asset writedowns.


Credit: AP
Credit: AP

Despite struggles in its core advertising business, the company announced that sales from its artificial intelligence-related cloud infrastructure, applications, and marketing services rose to 10 billion yuan. Baidu Chief Financial Officer He Haijian stated these sales laid ‘a solid foundation for sustainable long-term growth’.


This marks the first detailed disclosure of Baidu’s artificial intelligence businesses’ revenue growth. The company expects this information to provide investors a clearer understanding of its artificial intelligence operations and the growth driven by technology investment. Baidu, considered one of China’s ‘national artificial intelligence champions’, launched the mainland’s first ChatGPT-style chatbot application in early 2023.


Currently, Baidu competes in China’s rapidly growing artificial intelligence market against internet peers, including Alibaba Group Holding, Tencent Holdings, and ByteDance. Alibaba owns the South China Morning Post. Baidu Co-founder, Chairman, and Chief Executive Officer Robin Li Yanhong stated that the company had ‘showed artificial intelligence’s transformative value’ across its portfolio.


‘We will continue pioneering artificial intelligence innovations that create substantial value for users, enterprises, and society, cementing our leadership in the artificial intelligence era,’ Li said. Baidu’s Hong Kong-listed shares closed at HKD 111.40, a 1.94% decrease, ahead of the firm’s third-quarter results release.


Sales from Baidu’s artificial intelligence marketing services reached 2.8 billion yuan, marking a 262% surge from a year earlier. The company stated these services have become its ‘second growth curve’ beyond its traditional online advertising business. Artificial intelligence cloud infrastructure services, part of Baidu’s cloud unit serving both public and private sectors, recorded 33% year-on-year growth.


Revenue for these services totaled 4.2 billion yuan. Subscription-based revenue from Baidu’s artificial intelligence accelerator infrastructure increased 128% over the same period. Baidu’s autonomous ride-hailing service, Apollo Go, provided 3.1 million fully driverless rides in the third quarter, a 212% increase from a year ago.

  • Baidu reported a 50% rise in artificial intelligence-related revenue for the third quarter.

  • The company’s overall third-quarter revenue declined 7% year on year to 31.2 billion yuan, or USD 4.4 billion.

  • Baidu posted a net loss of 11.2 billion yuan due to asset writedowns.


Source: SCMP


 
 
 

As Asia becomes the fastest growing tech adoption region, biz360tv is committed to keeping readers up to date on the latest developments in business technology news in Asia and beyond.

While we use new technologies such as AI to improve our storytelling capabilities, our team carefully select the stories and topics to cover and goes through fact-checking, editing, and oversight before publication. Please contact us at editorial@tech360.tv if you notice any errors or inaccuracies. Your feedback will be vital in ensuring that our articles are accurate for all of our readers.

bottom of page