Baidu’s Chief Financial Officer, He Haijian, has announced that the company’s significant investments in artificial intelligence (AI) are projected to quickly generate profits and cash returns on par with those from its core search business, affirming the strategic soundness of its transformation. At present, Baidu’s AI-driven revenue streams already span diverse sectors, including cloud computing and AI applications, collectively contributing to over half of its total revenue while maintaining a robust growth trajectory. It is expected that the profit margins of the AI business will soon match those of the search business, and investments in new GPU clusters are anticipated to recover their costs within two to three years.

He Haijian further disclosed that Baidu’s cloud business revenue is set to outpace industry averages in the upcoming quarters, with capital expenditures remaining below market expectations—thus achieving higher growth with more efficient investment. Additionally, he emphasized Baidu’s ongoing evolution from an internet-centric company to a deep-tech enterprise and recommended that investors assess the standalone value of its subsidiaries, such as its chip division and autonomous driving unit. Notably, Baidu is currently the sole Chinese tech firm with a fully integrated AI capability stack and has secured dual primary listings on both the Hong Kong Stock Exchange and Nasdaq, with convertible shares facilitating cross-market trading.