Baidu ekes out modest quarterly revenue growth amid escalating generative AI competition in China
- Baidu’s revenue in the first quarter of 2024 grew 1 per cent, while net income fell 6 per cent but was better than estimates
- Founder and chairman Robin Li says Baidu is working to make its Ernie family of AI models affordable and efficient for the market
Baidu, China's search engine and artificial intelligence (AI) giant, reported 1 per cent revenue growth in the first quarter of 2024, in line with consensus estimates, as the Beijing-based company contends with heightened domestic competition amid efforts to commercialise its generative AI initiatives.
The firm’s revenue reached 31.5 billion yuan (US$4.3 billion) during the quarter ended March 31, up from 31.1 billion yuan a year earlier, the company reported on Thursday. It roughly matches with the 31.4 billion yuan forecast of analysts surveyed by Bloomberg.
Non-online marketing revenue rose 6 per cent year on year, driven mainly by Baidu’s AI Cloud business, the company said.
Net income came in at 5.4 billion yuan for the period, a 6 per cent fall from 5.8 billion yuan a year ago, beating analysts’ estimates of 3.97 billion yuan.
“As a new era of [generative AI] unfolds in China, foundation models like Ernie will serve as the underlying infrastructure, infusing various facets of people’s lives,” Robin Li Yanhong, co-founder, chairman and CEO of Baidu, said in a statement, referring to the firm’s large language model (LLM).
Li added that Baidu is working to make its Ernie family of models affordable and efficient for the market. “This should provide Baidu with even greater opportunities ahead,” he said.