China's Baidu posts rise in Q1 revenue as seeks to grow AI presence / Photo: Jade GAO - AFP/File
-
Kenya's economy faces climate change risks: World Bank
-
Pakistan's capital picks concrete over trees, angering residents
-
Neglected killer: kala-azar disease surges in Kenya
-
Chile's climate summit chief to lead plastic pollution treaty talks
-
Spain, Portugal face fresh storms, torrential rain
-
Opinions of Zuckerberg hang over social media addiction trial jury selection
-
Crypto firm accidentally sends $40 bn in bitcoin to users
-
Dow surges above 50,000 for first time as US stocks regain mojo
-
Danone expands recall of infant formula batches in Europe
-
EU nations back chemical recycling for plastic bottles
-
Why bitcoin is losing its luster after stratospheric rise
-
Stocks rebound though tech stocks still suffer
-
Digital euro delay could leave Europe vulnerable, ECB warns
-
German exports to US plunge as tariffs exact heavy cost
-
Stellantis takes massive hit for 'overestimation' of EV shift
-
'Mona's Eyes': how an obscure French art historian swept the globe
-
In Dakar fishing village, surfing entices girls back to school
-
Russian pensioners turn to soup kitchen as war economy stutters
-
As Estonia schools phase out Russian, many families struggle
-
Toyota names new CEO, hikes profit forecasts
-
Bangladesh Islamist leader seeks power in post-uprising vote
-
Japan to restart world's biggest nuclear plant
-
UK royal finances in spotlight after Andrew's downfall
-
Undercover probe finds Australian pubs short-pouring beer
-
New Zealand deputy PM defends claims colonisation good for Maori
-
Amazon shares plunge as AI costs climb
-
Deadly storm sparks floods in Spain, raises calls to postpone Portugal vote
-
Carney scraps Canada EV sales mandate, affirms auto sector's future is electric
-
Lower pollution during Covid boosted methane: study
-
Carney scraps Canada EV sales mandate
-
Record January window for transfers despite drop in spending
-
Mining giant Rio Tinto abandons Glencore merger bid
-
Davos forum opens probe into CEO Brende's Epstein links
-
ECB warns of stronger euro impact, holds rates
-
Greece aims to cut queues at ancient sites with new portal
-
ECB holds interest rates as strong euro causes jitters
-
What does Iran want from talks with the US?
-
Wind turbine maker Vestas sees record revenue in 2025
-
Bitcoin under $70,000 for first time since Trump's election
-
Germany claws back 59 mn euros from Amazon over price controls
-
Germany claws back 70 mn euros from Amazon over price controls
-
Stock markets drop amid tech concerns before rate calls
-
BBVA posts record profit after failed Sabadell takeover
-
UN human rights agency in 'survival mode': chief
-
Greenpeace slams fossel fuel sponsors for Winter Olympics
-
Russia says thwarted smuggling of giant meteorite to UK
-
Heathrow still Europe's busiest airport, but Istanbul gaining fast
-
Shell profits climb despite falling oil prices
-
German factory orders rise at fastest rate in 2 years in December
-
Trump fuels EU push to cut cord with US tech
NYSE - LSE
China's Baidu posts rise in Q1 revenue as seeks to grow AI presence
Chinese internet giant Baidu on Wednesday posted a quarterly revenue increase of three percent, as the firm seeks to grow its presence in artificial intelligence and expand its robotaxi business abroad.
The Beijing-based firm operates China's main search engine and has long been a key player in the domestic tech industry -- but faces stiff competition both from traditional rivals like Tencent and Alibaba and a host of newer upstarts.
Baidu derives a large part of its revenue from advertising, a sector vulnerable to fluctuations in consumer sentiment, and has sought to diversify with cloud computing, self-driving cars and AI.
The firm achieved revenue of 32.45 billion yuan ($4.5 billion) in the first quarter of 2025, up 3 percent year-on-year, according to an earnings report released Wednesday on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange website.
Net income during the first quarter reached 7.72 billion yuan, up 42 percent year-on-year.
China's consumer-facing AI sector attracted global attention after startup DeepSeek released a model that performed comparably to competitors such as US-made ChatGPT, apparently at a much lower developing cost.
In March, Baidu announced the launch of its latest X1 reasoning model -- which the company claims performs similarly to DeepSeek's but for a lower cost -- and a new foundation model, Ernie 4.5.
Baidu has also axed subscriptions for its AI chatbot Ernie Bot, making it free for individual users.
"We are confident that our AI-first strategy positions us to remain at the forefront and to capture long-term growth opportunities in the AI era," said Robin Li, co-founder and CEO of Baidu, in the filing.
"We also achieved a pivotal milestone in our robotaxi business, as Apollo Go expanded internationally," Li added.
In March Baidu announced it had signed an agreement to launch autonomous driving tests and services in Dubai, Apollo Go's first international fleet deployment.
The company also plans to start testing self-driving taxis in Europe by the end of this year, a source with knowledge of the matter confirmed to AFP earlier this month.
The company will also start testing in Turkey, they said.
X.Cheung--CPN