Baidu IncCFO states AI investments could match search profitability and pay back in 2-3 years, with AI revenue now over half of sales.
Baidu Inc.'s CFO Henry He said the company's investment in AI could start generating profits and cash payback in the near term, matching those of its legacy search business. Baidu's AI revenue, which includes cloud computing and applications, now generates over half of the company's sales, and the finance chief expects the upward trend to continue. He noted in an interview with Bloomberg Television that the profit margin on Baidu's AI revenue could match that of the search business in the near term, due to stronger demand for its cloud and chips. He also said that investments in new GPU clusters hosting AI services could fully pay for themselves in two to three years, echoing rival Alibaba Group. Baidu is facing intense competition from bigger Chinese AI rivals including Alibaba, Tencent Holdings, and ByteDance, and its Ernie AI models have fallen behind open-weight competitors. The CFO has also spearheaded plans for an independent listing of Baidu's AI chip unit Kunlunxin, a $5 billion share repurchase program, and the company's first-ever dividend policy. Last month, Baidu reported second-quarter revenue of 31.3 billion yuan ($4.62 billion), down 4% year over year and missed the $4.65 billion analyst estimate.
Baidu IncCFO states AI investments could match search profitability and pay back in 2-3 years, with AI revenue now over half of sales.
Alibaba Group Holding LtdBaidu faces intense competition from Alibaba and other AI rivals, though Alibaba is not the focus.
Astera Labs, Inc.
Tencent Holdings LtdBaidu faces intense competition from Tencent and other AI rivals, though Tencent is not the focus.
Baidu faces intense competition from ByteDance and other AI rivals, though ByteDance is not the focus.