| From: Ron | 7/9/2024 11:06:07 PM | | | | | |
Baidu robotaxis draw complaints from human drivers as service gains popularity
Local taxi drivers are petitioning Wuhan’s transport authority to limit the use of Apollo Go in the city of over 13 million
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| To: Ron who wrote (2073) | 7/10/2024 9:08:33 AM | | From: Julius Wong | | | |
Baidu climbs after Beijing proposes draft rules for robotaxis - report
Jul. 10, 2024 5:25 AM ET
By: Ravikash Bakolia, SA News Editor
 Kevin Frayer
Baidu's (NASDAQ: BIDU) stock jumped about 10% in Hong Kong on Wednesday after Beijing authorities said on Tuesday that they will support the introduction of robotaxis in ride hailing and car rental fleets in the city, Bloomberg News reported.
In China, Baidu's operates robotaxi Apollo Go, whose sixth generation was launched in Wuhan in May. The Chinese internet search giant saw its stock climb about 8% on Tuesday and was up about 2% premarket on Wednesday on Nasdaq.
According to the draft guidelines posted by the Beijing Municipal Bureau of Economy and Information Technology, autonomous vehicles should have drivers or safety officers on board, or be able to intercept remotely, while robotaxis are working. It also noted that any traffic breaches should be subject to local laws and rules, the report added.
The draft is open to public opinion for feedback till July 29.
Baidu plans to roll out about 1,000 robotaxis in Wuhan this year, where it already has a number of self-driving vehicles operating. Apollo Go is nearing break-even and expected to achieve balance in the fourth quarter of 2024 and turn profitable by 2025.
Meanwhile, robotaxi fleets in some Chinese cities are already facing backlash. Hundreds of pilot cars in Wuhan operated by Apollo Go have ignited worries related to job losses among taxi drivers. In addition, there have also been complaints from local residents about traffic jams and one car was recently involved in a crash, which is now being probed by the authorities, according to the report.
Tesla ( TSLA) is also slated to launch its own robotaxi on Aug. 8. A fully autonomous car which was first touted to investors in 2019. However, it was not known if Tesla's automated cars will be regarded as "qualified operators" by Beijing once the regulations are finalized and if the cars are released in China, the report added. |
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| From: Ron | 8/22/2024 6:21:17 PM | | | | | | Baidu posts flat second-quarter revenue as sluggish economy slowed advertising spending
The Chinese internet search giant’s second-quarter revenue reached US$4.7 billion, a slight 0.4 per cent dip from a year ago
Gains reported in AI and robotaxis but overall revenue was slightly down.
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| From: Ron | 11/21/2024 1:02:35 PM | | | | | | Baidu Inc. recorded its biggest revenue drop in more than two years after China’s economic malaise undermined its push into generative AI.
Revenue for the three months ended September slipped 3% to 33.6 billion yuan ($4.6 billion), in line with analysts’ projections. Net income came to 7.6 billion yuan. Its shares fell more than 3% in pre-market US trading.
The results reflect how the Chinese internet search leader’s AI-first growth strategy has delivered underwhelming returns so far. The company hopes its Ernie artificial intelligence model — now handling 1.5 billion daily queries — could become a game-changer for businesses like search and the cloud, but it will take time for monetization to fully kick in. Its Ernie Bot has fallen behind ByteDance Ltd.’s Doubao in China usage, while the core business is losing eyeballs to newer social platforms like Xiaohongshu and Douyin.
Baidu’s broader AI effort encompasses autonomous vehicles, an arena in which it’s regarded as a pioneer. On Thursday, Baidu said it has begun operating the latest generation of Apollo Go driverless taxis in several cities, taking the cheaper model beyond the testing stage. Fully driverless vehicles — those without safety personnel behind the wheel — now account for 70% of Baidu’s robotaxi rides across the country, it said.
Baidu is among the companies most vulnerable to China’s downturn, as its key advertisers span industries from automakers to real estate. Rivals Tencent Holdings Ltd. and Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. said they saw some improvement in the broader economy last week after posting mixed results, though neither offered a forecast for when a rebound might take hold.
“So far in Q4, we have not observed a notable improvement in advertisers’ spending patterns, and consumer spending remains subdued,” long-time CFO Luo Rong, who’s started a new role to head Baidu’s mobile ecosystem, told analysts on a call. “Having said that, we are particularly encouraged by the strength and timeliness of recent stimulus policies which continue to be rolled out.”
Despite a head-start in China’s AI frenzy, Baidu has struggled to hang on to leadership. Aside from no longer having the country’s most popular AI chatbot, the company faces an all-out price war among AI infrastructure providers to entice more developers and startups as customers. Even after generative AI products contributed a bigger 11% of cloud revenue for the third quarter, Baidu’s biggest growth engine slowed because of intensifying competition.
finance.yahoo.com |
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| From: Ron | 2/13/2025 10:40:23 AM | | | | | | Apple Expands AI Strategy in China, Partnering with Both Baidu and Alibaba
finance.yahoo.com
Baidu’s shares jumped Thursday after the Chinese tech company announced that its AI chatbot, Ernie Bot, will be available for free starting April 1, citing advancements in technology and lower costs.
finance.yahoo.com
Earnings expected Tuesday. |
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