Opinion | Baidu sniffs Kingsoft, Xiaomi next?
Baidu's reported talks for a tie-up with Kingsoft could be followed by another pairing with Xiaomi, giving the search giant a powerful new alliance for its drive into mobile computing.
Such a tie-up would provide a major boost for both companies, giving Baidu a popular new smartphone platform to promote its mobile search business. At the same time, such a pairing would provide Xiaomi with a major Internet partner as part of its drive to move beyond its current status as a niche smartphone player to become a mainstream brand.
Industry watchers will recall that Qihoo launched its own so.com online search site over the summer, in a bid to challenge Baidu's longtime dominance in the Chinese search market. So.com has risen rapidly since its debut, and now controls around 10 per cent of the market, according to the latest data.
While a Kingsoft-Baidu tie-up aimed at Qihoo's security software business certainly sounds logical and like a good tactical move, an eventual tie-up between Baidu and Xiaomi sounds even smarter and something that Baidu could and should pursue after it forms a Kingsoft tie-up. Baidu raised US$1.5 billion in cash through its first-ever bond offering in November, and has said it wanted to use the money partly to fund major new acquisitions.