Baidu's Full-Stack AI Strategy

How the Chinese tech giant is pivoting from search to a full-stack AI powerhouse

场景切入

Live recording at the Bloomberg Invest conference in Hong Kong

背景

Baidu, traditionally known as China's leading search engine, has evolved into a full-stack AI company encompassing custom chips, cloud infrastructure, the Ernie foundation model, and the Apollo Go robotaxi business.

01The Cloud as the Core AI Platform

Henry He emphasizes that the AI industry is shifting from infrastructure pre-training to applications and inference. He identifies Baidu Cloud as the 'must-win' layer of their stack, serving as the platform that hosts their Ernie model, integrates custom chips for inference, and connects AI capabilities to real-world tasks.

This integrated full-stack approach allows Baidu to control its ecosystem and optimize for the rapidly growing demand in AI inference.

02The Global Robotaxi Race

Baidu's robotaxi service, Apollo Go, represents its major push into 'physical AI'. He notes that Apollo Go delivered about 350,000 trips globally in a recent quarter, closely trailing Google's Waymo. He predicts that robotaxis will fundamentally disrupt traditional car ownership once the cost per mile drops below the threshold of owning and maintaining a personal vehicle.

The aggressive expansion of robotaxis highlights a direct, physical market clash between US and Chinese tech giants.

03Monetizing AI: From DAU to DAA

Baidu is shifting its primary success metric from Daily Active Users (DAU) to Daily Active Agents (DAA). Revenue generation is evolving from selling IT tools to result-driven profit sharing. By deploying AI agents that can plan and complete complex tasks—such as optimizing port logistics—Baidu can charge clients based on the actual economic value and efficiency those agents generate.

Baidu's enterprise strategy demonstrates a clear path from fundamental AI models to highly profitable, customized business solutions.