Baidu's R&D costs 2013-2023

In 2023, Baidu spent around 24 billion yuan on research and development, which was 877 million yuan higher compared to the previous year. Having started out as China’s largest search engine, Baidu has branched out into developing several more technologies within the AI sector, particularly voice assistant and autonomous driving.

The Chinese AI pioneer

In 2023, China’s artificial intelligence market size amounted to three times its size back in 2019. For a long time, it has been clear for Baidu that AI will be the future tech arena. In 2013, it opened an AI research lab in Silicon Valley, developing technologies like visual perception, speech recognition, and human-machine interaction. Baidu’s active AI venture made it the largest owner of machine learning and AI patents in 2022.

Baidu’s AI investments

Among all trending arms of AI, Baidu has gained a foothold in voice control systems and smart vehicle software. Its self-developed voice assistant DuerOS reported billions of monthly voice queries, and its smart speaker Xiaodu accounted for nearly 31 percent of all smart speaker shipments in China. When it comes to self-driving car systems, Baidu was among the second-largest owners of autonomous driving patents worldwide in 2022. The AI race has not ended here; the tech company is currently looking into other opportunities, such as robots and smart healthcare.