Baidu’s robotaxi service completes 11 million rides as company beats earnings expectations

Chinese internet search giant Baidu said on Wednesday that its Apollo Go robotaxi service has provided more than 11 million rides since launching in 2019.

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The Beijing-based firm reported that Apollo Go completed 1.4 million rides globally in the first quarter, up 75 per cent year on year. In addition to mainland China, the service is being tested in Hong Kong, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

With over 1,000 fully driverless vehicles deployed across 15 cities, “we aim to replicate and further optimise our proven approach” in robotaxi operations, CEO Robin Li Yanhong said during an earnings call on Wednesday. “We will deepen our presence in existing markets while strategically entering new ones.”

Baidu announced the progress as part of its first-quarter financial results. It posted revenue of 32 billion yuan (US$4.5 billion) for the three months ended March, 3 per cent higher than a year earlier and beating the 31 billion yuan consensus estimate from analysts polled by Bloomberg.

Quarterly profit jumped 42 per cent to 7.7 billion yuan, defying estimates of a 27 per cent drop to 4 billion yuan.

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What’s it like to ride in China’s AI-driven robotaxi?

What’s it like to ride in China’s AI-driven robotaxi?

Revenue from Baidu’s artificial intelligence (AI) cloud business jumped 42 per cent year on year, outpacing overall growth, according to Li.

South China Morning Post

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