TRAFFIC growth on Baidu Inc.’s mobile app helped drive higher-than-expected third quarter revenue as China’s biggest search engine operator places more emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI) and autonomous driving. Revenue rose to 28.2 billion yuan (US$4.11 billion) from 23.49 billion yuan in the same quarter a year ago. That beat the average estimate of 27.53 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data. Baidu has been investing heavily in new business lines following tighter rules in China introduced in 2016 requiring search engines to make it clear which results are paid-for ads, but has said these projects may not help boost sales growth in the near term. Baidu’s sales momentum has lagged technology peers Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., and it has sold or closed several businesses over the past year which were in direct competition. Baidu forecast fourth-quarter revenue of 25.48 billion yuan to 26.72 billion yuan, lower than financial analysts’ target of 27.69 billion yuan. At the same time, Baidu has become one of China’s biggest names in AI, with its efforts endorsed by the government as well as international firms. This month, it became the first Chinese company to join an AI ethics group alongside members such as Apple Inc. and Alphabet Inc.’s Google. “Baidu delivered a solid third quarter with impressive results from search, feed and new AI businesses,” said Baidu chief executive Robin Li. He added that Baidu’s AI platform DuerOS saw strong adoption and Apollo, Baidu’s self-driving car technology, was now powering fully autonomous Apolong minibuses in more than 10 locations. (SD-Agencies) |