Baidu. A multinational technology company specializing in internet-related services, artificial intelligence (AI), and autonomous driving, Baidu is often dubbed “China’s Google.”
Founded in 2000 by Robin Li and Eric Xu, the Beijing-based firm dominates China’s search engine market with an 80% share and has expanded into AI cloud computing, intelligent vehicles, and generative AI.
As of 2025, Baidu ranks among the world’s top AI innovators, with over 200 million users for its ChatGPT-like Ernie Bot2 and a robotaxi service, Apollo Go, providing 1.4 million rides globally in Q1.
Core Innovations and Global Expansion
Baidu’s AI-first strategy, spearheaded by CEO Robin Li, has positioned it as a leader in China’s tech race. The company launched Ernie Bot in August 2023, a multilingual AI chatbot that surpassed 200 million users within two years.
Its ERNIE 4.5 and X1 reasoning models, released in 2025, offer multimodal capabilities at reduced costs, accelerating enterprise adoption10. Baidu’s AI Cloud division grew 42% year-on-year in Q1 2025, driven by partnerships with Tesla and Apple for autonomous driving systems and on-board maps.
Internationally, Apollo Go expanded to Dubai, Abu Dhabi, and Hong Kong in 2025, with plans for European and Turkish markets1012. The service has completed over 11 million autonomous rides since inception. Baidu also leads in AI patents in China and open-sourced its PaddlePaddle deep-learning framework to foster global developer collaboration.
Social Impact and Challenges
Baidu’s philanthropic arm supports education and sustainability, though its AI advancements raise ethical concerns. The company faces scrutiny over data privacy and geopolitical tensions, particularly as U.S.-China tech competition intensifies. Despite these challenges, Baidu remains central to China’s goal of becoming the global AI leader by 2030.