Key Points:
- Baidu’s Ernie bot has reached over 200 million users. The company plans to host another AI development competition with a prize of 50 million yuan.
- Baidu’s development tools enable users to create AI-powered chatbots and applications without coding knowledge.
- Based on Baidu’s Ernie language model, the Ernie bot has gained traction with businesses and handles millions of queries daily.
- China’s AI market is expected to exceed $26 billion by 2026. Baidu anticipates increased AI revenue while maintaining the resilience of its core business.
On Tuesday, Baidu CEO Robin Li revealed that the company’s Ernie bot, akin to ChatGPT, has now amassed over 200 million users. Speaking at Baidu’s AI Create conference, Li also announced plans for another round of their AI development competition, offering a prize of 50 million yuan ($7 million).
During his opening speech titled “Everyone is a Developer,” Li showcased three development tools: AgentBuilder, AppBuilder, and ModelBuilder. These tools empower users to create and integrate AI-powered chatbots with Baidu web search or develop applications without coding knowledge.
Baidu introduced its ChatGPT-like chatbot, Ernie bot, over a year ago and received approval from Beijing for public use in August. The chatbot leverages Baidu’s extensive language model, with companies like Samsung and Honor integrating Ernie’s AI capabilities into select mobile devices.
According to Baidu, as of December, approximately 26,000 businesses were actively utilizing Ernie’s capabilities monthly, with the chatbot handling over 50 million queries daily. During a late February earnings call, Li expressed optimism about AI’s increasing contribution to 2024 revenues while reaffirming Baidu’s core business’s resilience.
Baidu is scheduled to release its first-quarter results on May 16 amidst a global rush to develop AI capabilities. This surge in demand has increased interest in Nvidia’s graphics processing units, which are crucial for powering large AI language models. U.S. export controls in recent years have limited China’s access to high-end semiconductors, prompting Li to mention that Baidu’s AI chip reserve would enable continued enhancement of Ernie for the next one or two years.
In an interview, Alibaba Chairman Joe Tsai recently stated that China trails the U.S. by about two years in AI development. However, analysts anticipate Chinese companies gaining an edge in AI applications. Barclays estimates that China’s AI market, primarily hardware-driven, will surpass $26 billion by 2026. Spending on digital transformation is projected to outpace global growth between 2023 and 2026.
