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Bloomberg reports that Chinese Internet giant Baidu's revenue increased 10%, better than expected, thanks to growth in its advertising and cloud businesses following the reopening of businesses in China.
For the quarter, revenue was 31.1 billion yuan ($4.5 billion), higher than analysts' average forecast of 30 billion yuan. Net profit was 5.8 billion yuan, exceeding expectations due to the growth in the value of investments.
AI competition is on the rise in China, and Baidu, like others from Alibaba to SenseTime Group Inc Class B, is looking to showcase its AI platforms.
Analysts at Barclays see a recovery in demand in Baidu's advertising business, especially after the Chinese New Year, and expect it to accelerate in the second quarter. They remain optimistic about the recovery of the Chinese economy and the prospects for the advertising industry this year.
Baidu, in recent years, has been looking to expand beyond the search and marketing business, becoming an active player in the field of artificial intelligence and autonomous driving.
Baidu's Ernie Bot is now becoming the focal point of their AI efforts, infiltrating businesses ranging from search to smart speakers and autonomous driving.
