Baidu Ventures Launches $200M AI-Focused Fund and Open Platform to Empower Industries

On September 13, Baidu announced the establishment of an independent venture capital firm (hereinafter referred to as Baidu Venture). Robin Li will personally serve as Chairman and participate in the evaluation and decision-making for key projects. The newly established Baidu Venture will focus on artificial intelligence and next-generation technological innovations such as AR and VR, concentrating its investments in early-stage projects. The initial fund size will reach $200 million.

On September 1, the Baidu World Conference was held in Beijing, where Robin Li showcased the core AI capabilities of Baidu Brain and declared that artificial intelligence is the “core of the core” for Baidu.

Open Platform, Shared AI

Baidu was among the first companies in the global internet sector to make substantial investments in artificial intelligence. In early 2013, Baidu established the Institute of Deep Learning, with Robin Li personally serving as its director. In 2014, Baidu recruited Andrew Ng, a leading figure in the field of artificial intelligence worldwide, to join as its Chief Scientist.

What is the relationship between machine deep learning and search engines? Andrew Ng cited an example involving big data: nowadays, hospital medical records are increasingly being digitized, generating massive volumes of data. Through learning-based algorithms, this vast amount of case data can be transformed into medical knowledge and expertise.

Today, artificial intelligence has permeated Baidu’s entire product portfolio and created synergies across various industries. For instance, L’Oréal achieved a sales breakthrough in brand marketing by leveraging Baidu’s AR technology, while Legendary Pictures, the producer of Warcraft, utilized Baidu’s user profiling capabilities to enable precise recommendations. Robin Li is particularly optimistic about the autonomous driving sector, which is built upon Baidu Cloud, mapping technologies, and NVIDIA’s automotive AI computing platform.

Image source: Tencent Technology

At the Baidu World Conference in early September, Andrew Ng unveiled two open platforms for Baidu’s artificial intelligence: the Baidu Deep Learning Platform (PaddlePaddle) and the Baidu Brain Open Platform (ai.baidu.com), providing developers with “foundational support.” Robin Li stated that Baidu’s technologies are open and will be made available free of charge, adding that Baidu would soon release the source code for its deep learning framework.

Baidu Ventures: Powering the Entire Industry

In recent years, Baidu has invested approximately 15% of its operating revenue in research and development, establishing the Big Data Laboratory, the Deep Learning Laboratory, and the Silicon Valley Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Robin Li has repeatedly pointed out to the industry that the next phase of the internet is artificial intelligence.The entire society will usher in transformative development.

Andrew Ng likens artificial intelligence to the new “electricity.” “A century ago, electricity transformed many different industries, including agriculture, refrigeration, and even communications. Today, artificial intelligence can likewise transform a broader range of sectors, such as autonomous driving, finance, and healthcare.” He further stated that the biggest challenge facing AI today is that “there are too many opportunities but too little talent.”

What Robin Li values is Baidu’s role in the era of transformation and the resulting social impact. Therefore,Baidu Ventures will operate independently from Baidu’s existing investment and M&A team, leveraging innovative evaluation mechanisms to accelerate decision-making processes.process, enabling more efficient investment operations. Robin Li will concurrently serve as Chairman and Chair of the Investment Committee. In addition, Baidu Ventures will invite a group of prominent scientists from Baidu’s artificial intelligence division to serve as advisors, providing support for investment decision-making and post-investment management.

Baidu’s announcement of the establishment of a venture capital fund focused on the field of artificial intelligence is regarded by the industry as another significant move by Baidu to position itself in this sector, following its intensified efforts in AI technology R&D and the opening of its AI technology platform.

This article synthesizes reports from Baidu, ZHENGHE ISLAND, and Tencent Technology.