Baidu's Big Data Strategy-Impacting Chinese and Global AI Landscape |
|
|
|
|
| <<Previous Page |
EXCERPTS |
|
| |
| Baidu’s top priority was to build a robust infrastructure compatible with highly advanced features in big data application. In 2000, after the launch of Baidu Search, it released various internet applications at regular intervals. The applications helped in increasing Baidu’s traffic on its various product platforms. Many of its tools became the most sought after and most popular internet apps in China. They included Baidu News, Baidu Maps, Baidu Post Bars, Baidu Knows, Baidu Space, and Baidu Baike. |
| |
 |
| or |
 |
| or |
PayPal (9 USD)
|
|
|
| |
| |
| Baidu made no compromises in building the fundamental infrastructure to realize its big data vision. It built three state-of-the-art research laboratories in Silicon Valley. In 2013, it built Deep Learning Institute with its focus on certain areas – image recognition, machine learning, robotics, human-computer interaction, 3D vision, and heterogeneous computing .. |
| |
|
| By 2016, Baidu was registering 6 billion computer searches and 4 billion mobile searches per day. It harnessed the colossal amounts of data it was gathering daily through its search platforms and rolled out its Data Analytics solutions as per its first strategic lever – Tiansun. . |
| |
|
| China’s cross-border ecommerce segment was expected to grow at 15 per cent annually . Around 2010, as a result of the rise in domestic as well as cross-border e-commerce segments, the online payment trend in China was on a steep rise. The Chinese payment gateways witnessed fierce competition. The Goliaths of the payment gateways, Alibaba (Alipay) and Tencent (WeChatpay), dominated the payment segment. . |
| |
|
| Autonomous cars comprised a segment that was witnessing fierce competition among global tech giants like Google, Tesla, BMW, and many more. Top thinkers were of the view that driverless cars would revolutionize the automotive sector in future. In a report in 2017, McKinsey estimated that autonomous driving could contribute $1.5 trillion in net new revenues to the automobile market by 2030 . It also projected that by 2030, they could account for up to 15% of total new car sales. . |
| |
|
| In the last several years of its research on AI, Baidu had made significant headway in Machine Learning. It had been integrating into its core services machine and deep learning technology, self-teaching, and neural net technology to reap the benefits in sectors like finance and healthcare. In 2014, Baidu launched a speech recognition technology called ‘Deep Speech’ , which recognized and interpreted voice input in noisy environments without distorting accuracy. |
| |
|
| The Chinese government, as a part of its ‘Made in China Policy’, declared an ambitious strategy to propel the country toward global technology leadership by 2030. In November 2017, the government officially recruited Baidu along with Alibaba and Tencent, the trio popularly referred to as BAT apart from iFlyTek . China’s Ministry of Science and Technology recognized Baidu as one of the first members of the AI national team. |
| |
|
| Baidu’s big data initiatives were not confined to business and commercial utilities alone. Many of its applications demonstrated and promised to make an impact on several sensitive social and economic issues also. . |
| |
|
| In 2011, Baidu was China’s most valuable internet company. It had a market of US$46 billion in 2011 which increased to US$64.6 billion by 2017 – a 40 per cent rise. However, Baidu had to face fierce competition from its domestic peers Alibaba and Tencent. In 2014, Alibaba went public on the New York Stock Exchange and grew at a rapid pace to a market cap of US$300 billion by 2017. |
| |
|
Exhibit I:Baidu Financial Data
Exhibit II: Baidu – Products and Services
Exhibit III: About Big Data
Exhibit IV: Baidu’s Big Data Process Flow
Exhibit V: Baidu’s Big Data Output- An Illustration
Exhibit VI: Baidu’s Big Services to Government of China |
| |
|
