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☆ Baidu says its alternative to ChatGPT is coming to the public in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +5 min

Sun Yilei | ReutersBEIJING — Chinese tech giant Baidu said Wednesday its artificial intelligence product Ernie bot is set to open to the public next month. "We will embed Ernie bot into Baidu search first and we'll open it to the public in March," Baidu CEO Robin Li said Wednesday during an earnings call, according to a FactSet transcript. Stock Chart Icon Stock chart icon Baidu 12-month share performanceDespite widespread assessments that ChatGPT is transformative for tech, businesses don't have a clear path to monetization yet. For Ernie bot, public partnership announcements include Baidu-backed video streaming platform iQiyi's plans for connecting to the bot for search and AI-generated content. Baidu-backed electric car startup Jidu — which is set to start deliveries this year — also said it plans to incorporate Ernie bot.

☆ Beijing mutes ChatGPT meme rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

HONG KONG, Feb 23 (Reuters Breakingviews) - The rally in Chinese stocks associated with conversational bots, a side-effect of the popularity of OpenAI’s ChatGPT, has been knocked sideways. Beijing has ordered big Chinese technology companies including Tencent (0700.HK) and Ant not to offer ChatGPT services on their platforms, the Nikkei reported citing people with direct knowledge. The latter’s Hong Kong shares surged 45% between the start of the year and early February, before falling by a fifth since. OpenAI, which is backed by Microsoft (MSFT.O), won’t let Chinese residents create ChatGPT accounts. Still, despite warm noises from Beijing about supporting technology companies, its politics still stifles innovation.

☆ Baidu's Ernie Bot chatbot has 'tremendous potential,' says investment research firm
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBaidu's Ernie Bot chatbot has 'tremendous potential,' says investment research firmJohn Freeman of CFRA Research discusses the firm's position on Baidu and the Chinese tech company's plan to implement the chatbot in March.

☆ Baidu beats fourth-quarter revenue estimates, flags chatbot launch
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 came in at 33.08 billion yuan ($4.80 billion), inching past analysts' estimates of 32.01 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data. Revenue from Baidu Core, which includes search-based ad sales, cloud offerings and its autonomous driving initiatives, fell 1% to 25.7 billion yuan. While non-online marketing revenue rose 11% to 7.6 billion yuan, driven by AI and cloud businesses, strict pandemic-related controls in China caused the company's online marketing revenue to drop 6% to 18.1 billion yuan in the reported quarter. A logo of Baidu is seen during the World Internet Conference (WIC) in Wuzhen, Zhejiang province, China, November 23, 2020. ($1 = 6.8963 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Yuvraj Malik in Bengaluru and Eduardo Baptista in Beijing; Editing by Devika Syamnath, Shounak Dasgupta and Tomasz JanowskiOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Beijing tells big tech companies not to offer ChatGPT services - Nikkei Asia
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

In this videoShare Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBeijing tells big tech companies not to offer ChatGPT services - Nikkei AsiaCNBC's 'Squawk on the Street' team discusses Baidu's quarterly earnings.

☆ Baidu beats fourth-quarter revenue estimates, announces $5 bln share buyback
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Feb 22 (Reuters) - China's Baidu Inc (9888.HK) beat revenue estimates for the fourth quarter on Wednesday, bolstered by strength in its advertising, cloud and artificial intelligence businesses, sending its U.S.-listed shares up 7% in premarket trading. Revenue for the quarter ended Dec. 31 came in at 33.08 billion yuan ($4.80 billion), inching past analysts' estimates of 32.01 billion yuan, according to Refinitiv data. Revenue from Baidu Core, which includes search-based ad sales, cloud offerings and its autonomous driving initiatives, fell 1% to 25.7 billion yuan. While non-online marketing revenue rose 11% to 7.6 billion yuan, driven by AI and cloud businesses, strict pandemic-related controls in China caused the company's online marketing revenue to drop 6% to 18.1 billion yuan in the reported quarter. Baidu stands as the best example of the long-term growth of China's AI market and is advancing at the forefront of this new wave," Li said.

☆ Baidu's ChatGPT-like app will revolutionise its search engine, says CEO
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-22 | by ( Eduardo Baptista | ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Feb 23 (Reuters) - China's Baidu Inc (9888.HK) will use its ChatGPT-like app Ernie Bot to create a "revolutionary" version of its popular search engine, the company's CEO said on Wednesday. Ahead of Ernie Bot’s launch in March, Baidu CEO Robin Li told reporters on a conference call to discuss fourth-quarter results that users would be more dependent on the Baidu search engine once it was embedded with the chatbot. He added that online advertising, the company's main source of revenue, would also be boosted by the integration of Ernie Bot into the search engine. Since early February, more than 400 companies have signed up to join the Ernie Bot community as early users of the app, Baidu has said. He also said Ernie Bot was "state of the art" among large AI-driven language models in terms of understanding China's language and culture.

☆ Morgan Stanley says these stocks will benefit from an A.I. boom
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Hakyung Kim | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The current buzz surrounding artificial intelligence is here to stay, creating plenty of trading opportunities as the technology grows, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Shawn Kim. However, the hype around generative AI may be justified and the technology feels genuinely exciting," Kim said in a note on Tuesday. Morgan Stanley anticipates that increased demand for computer power needed for AI training will lead to rapidly growing markets for graphics and central processing units. In the generative AI world, "the raw material is data; the user of that material is hyperscale data centers; the enabling workhorse is semiconductors," wrote Kim. GDS "has more balanced exposure to all internet companies," Kim said, adding that its "valuation is more reasonable."

☆ Chinese EV startup Jidu plans to use ChatGPT-like tech
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-15 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Visitors look at a Jidu Robo-01 electric SUV during the 20th Guangzhou International Automobile Exhibition at Canton Fair Complex on Dec. 30, 2022 in Guangzhou, China. BEIJING — Baidu's ChatGPT-like product is set to come to electric, assisted-driving cars, startup Jidu said Tuesday. Jidu, backed by Baidu and Geely , is using Baidu's Apollo system for the in-car user interface and assisted driving tech. The startup plans to deliver its first car this year. Jidu plans to use Apollo with Baidu's ChatGPT-like product, called Ernie bot in English, the startup said.

☆ From state media to a Shaolin temple, Baidu's ChatGPT-style bot sees partner rush
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-14 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

BEIJING, Feb 14 (Reuters) - Chinese organisations, from state media to a Shaolin temple, said on Tuesday they have signed partnerships with Baidu's ChatGPT-style project, ahead of an expected launch next month. The Chinese search engine giant (9888.HK) last week announced that it would complete internal testing of its “Ernie Bot" in March. China's Shaolin Temple, the cradle of Chinese kung fu, said in a statement it would work with Baidu to integrate Ernie into its operations with the purpose of creating an AI-driven content environment. Over a dozen Chinese media outlets also said they had entered tie-ups with Baidu, including the state-owned Shanghai Securities Journal. Baidu's banking joint venture with CITIC (601998.SS), as well as its electric vehicle arm Jidu Auto, also said on Tuesday they would integrate Ernie into their operations.

☆ Here's how tech giants Microsoft, Google, and Baidu are dealing with ChatGPT, and what that could mean for investors
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-08 | by ( George Glover | ) www.businessinsider.com time to read: +5 min

ChatGPT's viral success has caught the eye of big tech companies and investors. Microsoft is working to integrate the bot into its search engine, while Google is scrambling for alternatives. Major tech names like Microsoft, Google parent Alphabet, and Chinese tech giant Baidu have all taken steps in recent weeks to show they're trying to harness the technology underpinning OpenAI's ChatGPT. BaiduChinese search giant Baidu is also working on developing a rival to ChatGPT to use in its services. But analysts generally expect Baidu's bounce to prove short-lived – because so many of its competitors, including Microsoft and Google, are working on similar AI programs.

☆ Baidu to finish testing ChatGPT-style project 'Ernie Bot' in March; stocks rally
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

BEIJING, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China's Baidu Inc (9888.HK) said on Tuesday it would complete internal testing of a ChatGPT-style project called "Ernie Bot" in March, as interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) gathers steam. The news sent search engine giant Baidu's Hong Kong-listed shares up 15.3% on Tuesday. Baidu, China's answer to Google, joined the frenzy on Tuesday. A person familiar with the matter told Reuters last week that Baidu was planning to launch such a service in March. The company has been investing heavily in AI technology, including in cloud services, chips and autonomous driving, as it looks to diversify its revenue sources.

☆ Baidu to finish testing ChatGPT-style project 'Ernie Bot' in March
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +3 min

BEIJING, Feb 7 (Reuters) - China's Baidu Inc (9888.HK) said on Tuesday it would complete internal testing of a ChatGPT-style project called "Ernie Bot" in March, joining a global race as interest in generative artificial intelligence (AI) gathers steam. It has gradually grown to be able to perform tasks including language understanding, language generation, and text-to-image generation, it added. Search engine giant Baidu's Hong Kong-listed shares jumped as much as 13.4% on the news. The company has also worked to add OpenAI's image-generation software to its Bing search engine in a new challenge to Alphabet Inc's (GOOGL.O) Google. The company has been investing heavily in AI technology, including in cloud services, chips and autonomous driving, as it looks to diversify its revenue sources.

Robin Li (or Li Yanhong in Chinese), founder, chairman and CEO of Baidu, introduces the new AI-powered digital assistant "Duer" during the 2015 Baidu Technology Innovation Conference on September 8, 2015 in Beijing, China. Shares of Baidu surged by more than 13% in Hong Kong as the company said it will launch its own artificial intelligence chatbot. The stock rose to $159.80 Hong Kong dollars per share, or 13.48% higher in Asia's morning trade. Google recently announced a similar service, Bard A. I.Ernie stands for "Enhanced Representation through Knowledge Integration," Baidu said, describing it as a "large language model" that was introduced in 2019. "What distinguishes ERNIE from other language models is its integration of extensive knowledge with massive data, resulting in exceptional understanding and generation capabilities," Baidu said.

☆ U.S. Treasury bond yields rise — and stock markets fall — on January jobs report
▼ + stars: | 2023-02-07 | by ( Yeo Boon Ping | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

This report is from today's CNBC Daily Open, our new, international markets newsletter. CNBC Daily Open brings investors up to speed on everything they need to know, no matter where they are. The 2-year Treasury yield was trading at 4.485% after climbing more than 18 basis points. Chinese firm Baidu joined the bandwagon Tuesday and said its own AI chatbot, named Ernie, will complete internal testing in March. Subscribe here to get this report sent directly to your inbox each morning before markets open.

☆ China's Baidu developing AI-powered chatbot to rival OpenAI, report says
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-30 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailChina's Baidu developing AI-powered chatbot to rival OpenAI, report saysCNBC's Steve Kovach and Deirdre Bosa join 'Closing Bell' to discuss Baidu's own ChatGPT like product, the training that goes in to the development AI products, and how consumer AI will navgate China's censorship protocols.

☆ Companies can ‘hire’ a virtual person for about $14k a year in China
▼ + stars: | 2023-01-02 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Virtual singer Luo Tianyi performing with world renowned pianist Lang Lang in 2019 at the Mercedes-Benz Arena in Shanghai, China. Launched in 2012, Luo Tianyi has nearly 3 million fans and even performed at the Winter Olympics opening ceremony in Beijing this year. BEIJING — From customer service to the entertainment industry, businesses in China are paying big bucks for virtual employees. It costs about 100,000 yuan ($14,300) a year for a three-dimensional virtual person, and 20,000 yuan for a two-dimensional one. Li expects the virtual person industry overall will keep growing by 50% annually through 2025.

☆ UBS says self-driving cars could become a $100 billion market in China — and names stocks to play it
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Zavier Ong | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

It cited China's large domestic market, high acceptance of autonomous driving, efficient supply chains, and supportive infrastructure among other factors. UBS estimated that China's potential autonomous driving-related market could reach $100 billion by 2030. As such, the Swiss bank said it sees "significant" investment opportunities in the autonomous driving space. Stock picks Tesla is among UBS' top picks to play the autonomous driving theme. Xpeng also made the list, with the bank describing the automaker as one of the "leading autonomous driving players in China."

☆ Baidu claims its robotaxis rival traditional ride-hailing in parts of China
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Evelyn Cheng | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

Baidu got approval to charge fares for its robotaxi rides in the Beijing suburb of Yizhuang in November 2021. BEIJING — Chinese tech company Baidu said its robotaxi business in large cities is close to gaining the same traction with locals as traditional ride-hailing services. "According to our knowledge, this number is quite close to the average daily rides for traditional ride-hailing services," Li said. In Beijing, Shanghai and Guangzhou, Baidu's robotaxis — branded Apollo Go — can only operate in certain suburban areas. The company did not say whether it could charge fares for its robotaxi rides in Guangzhou or Shanghai.

☆ China's Baidu says it expects 'limited' impact from U.S. chip curbs
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( Sheila Chiang | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +1 min

"We think the impact is quite limited in the near future," Dou Shen, executive vice president and head of Baidu AI Cloud, said of the U.S. chip export controls. Chinese tech company Baidu expects that impact from U.S. chip sanctions on its businesses will be "limited," a company executive said on Tuesday during a Q&A session of its third quarter earnings call. In October, the United States imposed export controls limiting American businesses from selling semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to Chinese chip manufacturers. "A large portion of our AI Cloud business and even wider AI business does not rely too much on the highly advanced chips," said Shen. "And for the part of our businesses that need advanced chips, we have already stocked enough in hand to support our business in the near term," he said.

☆ James Lee on Baidu's chip resiliency
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailJames Lee on Baidu's chip resiliencyJames Lee, analyst at Mizuho Securities, says that Baidu is not reliant on highly advanced semiconductor chips and manufactures its own AI chip for its cloud computing and robotaxi businesses.

☆ Baidu's recovery is likely to be delayed this quarter, Mizuho Securities says
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-23 | by ( ) www.cnbc.com time to read: 1 min

Share Share Article via Facebook Share Article via Twitter Share Article via LinkedIn Share Article via EmailBaidu's recovery is likely to be delayed this quarter, Mizuho Securities saysJames Lee of Mizuho Securities cites Covid restrictions and the "macro environment" as factors contributing to the delay.

☆ Morning Bid: Wild oil ride amid China and crypto woe
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +4 min

[1/2] General view of the oil refinery, part of Grupa Lotos taken over by PKN Orlen in 2022, in Gdansk, Poland August 9, 2022. Turbulence in oil, China's COVID crunch and unravelling cryptocurrencies make for uncomfortable reading for investors starting to parse what looks like a recessionary year ahead. Higher interest rates and slowing economies dominate most 2023 outlooks, not least Tuesday's latest from the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development. Underlining the growth gloom, China's battle with COVID and its widening curbs only seemed to worsen. Pain in the crypto world continued, with many investors fearing the fallout from the collapse of exchange FTX is just beginning.

☆ China's Baidu beats Q3 revenue estimates as ad sales recover
▼ + stars: | 2022-11-22 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +1 min

Nov 22 (Reuters) - Baidu Inc's (9988.HK) third-quarter revenue beat Wall Street estimates on Tuesday, as China's search engine giant benefited from a recovery in online advertising sales and growth in its cloud and artificial intelligence (AI) business. The company has been looking to grow its cloud and AI business, which includes autonomous driving, to diversify its revenue sources. Baidu's revenue rose 2% to 32.54 billion yuan ($4.56 billion) in the three months ended Sept. 30, beating the 31.79 billion yuan average estimate of 20 analysts, according to Refinitiv data. The company's operating income rose to 5.32 billion yuan from 2.31 billion yuan a year earlier. ($1 = 7.1388 Chinese yuan renminbi)Reporting by Eva Mathews in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D'SouzaOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

☆ Chinese EV maker Xpeng launches rival to Tesla's semi-autonomous driving system
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( Arjun Kharpal | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +2 min

The Chinese start-up announced Monday that it was piloting a feature known as City NGP, which stands for navigation guided pilot. City NGP is being trialed with some users of the premium version of it P5 sedan in the southern Chinese city of Guangzhou, where the company is headquartered, it said. City NGP was first announced last year, when Xpeng released Xpilot 3.5, the latest version of its advanced driver-assistance system, or ADAS. Charles Zhang, vice president of Xpeng, told CNBC on Monday that the pilot of City NGP brings the company "one step closer to full autonomy." Xpeng said that those trialing City NGP will need to download it via an update.

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