Baidu

Baidu was founded in January 2000 by Robin Li and Eric Xu with the mission of providing the best and most equitable way for people to find what they're looking for online. Baidu's early success was fueled by its powerful search engine capabilities, quickly making it dominant in China's search market.

On August 5, 2005, Baidu went public on the NASDAQ stock market, with the company raising $109 million. The initial public offering was a huge success, and Baidu's shares soared by 354% on the first day of trading. This event marked Baidu's emergence as a significant player in the global tech industry.

In June 2010, Baidu launched its mobile search service, marking a significant step towards capturing the mobile internet market. As mobile internet usage was rapidly increasing, Baidu made strategic investments in this area. This move helped Baidu maintain its leadership position in China’s search engine market.

In May 2013, Baidu announced its expansion beyond China with new offices in Thailand, Egypt, and Brazil. This expansion was part of Baidu's strategy to emerge as a global player in the search engine market. Baidu made significant investments in research and development to support its international growth.

Baidu launched its dedicated artificial intelligence (AI) unit in December 2015, solidifying its commitment to leading in AI research and development. The AI unit focused on cutting-edge technologies such as deep learning, natural language processing, and computer vision, setting the stage for Baidu's future innovations.

On September 21, 2017, Baidu unveiled 'Apollo,' its open-source platform for self-driving technology, during the company's annual Baidu World Conference. Apollo was designed to accelerate the development of autonomous driving systems by providing developers with comprehensive tools and data.

In November 2018, Baidu's AI chief, Brendan Iribe, was reported to be leaving the company to join Oculus VR. This was a significant shift within Baidu's team and highlighted the competition and talent poaching prevalent in the technology industry at that time.

In January 2019, Baidu hit a significant milestone by achieving Level 4 autonomous driving capability as per the SAE International standards with its Apollo autonomous driving platform. Level 4 autonomy means the vehicle can handle all driving tasks in certain conditions without human intervention.

In early 2020, Baidu's DuerOS became the leading voice assistant in China, surpassing competitors like AliGenie (Alibaba) and Xiao Ai (Xiaomi). DuerOS's success was attributed to its advanced AI capabilities and strategic partnerships, reflecting Baidu's strength in AI technology and integration.

Baidu conducted a secondary listing in Hong Kong on March 23, 2021, raising $3.1 billion. This move followed a trend among Chinese companies to list closer to home amid U.S.-China tensions, and it highlighted Baidu’s intention to strengthen its financial base and investor access in Asia.

In August 2022, Baidu received the first-ever permits in China to offer a fully driverless robotaxi service to the public. Granted in Wuhan and Chongqing, these permits represented a major achievement for Baidu's Apollo Go, making it the first company in China authorized to provide such services without a safety driver.