China’s Tencent reported disappointing profits in the fourth quarter on the back of surging costs but saw emerging businesses pick up steam as it plots to diversify amid slackening gaming revenues. Net profit for the quarter slid 32 percent to 14.2 billion yuan ($2.1 billion), behind analysts’ forecast of 18.3 billion yuan. The decrease was […]
View More Tencent Q4 profit disappoints, but cloud and payments gain groundCategory: Baidu
The “splinternet” is already here
Keith Wright Contributor Share on Twitter Keith Wright is a Villanova School of Business instructor of Accounting and Information Systems, founder of Simplicity On-Demand LLC and former Senior Vice President for Global Sales Operations for SAP. There is no question that the arrival of a fragmented and divided internet is now upon us. The “splinternet,” […]
View More The “splinternet” is already hereFood delivered to the doorstep is not so cheap in China anymore
A big selling point of ordering food to the doorstep in China is price, which, in the early years, could be much cheaper than eating in-house. That’s arguably indulged a demographic of lazy, indoorsy eaters, but that may not last for much longer. Over the past few months, users in China have noticed incremental price […]
View More Food delivered to the doorstep is not so cheap in China anymoreTiger Global and Ant Financial lead $500M investment in China’s shared housing startup Danke
A Chinese startup that’s taking a dorm-like approach to urban housing just raised $500 million as its valuation jumped over $2 billion. Danke Apartment, whose name means “eggshell” in Chinese, closed the Series C round led by returning investor Tiger Global Management and newcomer Ant Financial, Alibaba’s e-payment and financial affiliate controlled by Jack Ma. […]
View More Tiger Global and Ant Financial lead $500M investment in China’s shared housing startup DankeKorean conglomerate SK leads $600M round for Chinese chipmaker Horizon Robotics
Horizon Robotics, a three-year-old Chinese startup backed by Intel Capital, just raised a mega-round of fundings from domestic and overseas backers as it competes for global supremacy in developing AI solutions and chips aimed at autonomous vehicles, smart retail stores, surveillance equipment and other devices for everyday scenarios. The Beijing-based company announced Wednesday in a […]
View More Korean conglomerate SK leads $600M round for Chinese chipmaker Horizon RoboticsBaidu’s video site iQiyi adds 37M subscribers in 2018 amid mounting losses
China’s Baidu, which is often compared to Alphabet’s Google, is showing no signs of slowing down its pace of betting on video content as its core advertising unit feels the squeeze from rivals. The company’s latest financial results show its video streaming business iQiyi posted a net loss of 9.1 billion yuan or $1.3 billion in 2018, […]
View More Baidu’s video site iQiyi adds 37M subscribers in 2018 amid mounting lossesAlibaba takes an 8% stake in Tencent-backed anime streaming site Bilibili
Ecommerce giant Alibaba is continuing its push into the world of youth culture after it scooped up an 8 percent stake in anime streaming and game publishing company Bilibili. According to a securities filing on Thursday, Alibaba’s Taobao marketplace has acquired about 24 million shares in Bilibili, the Shanghai-based firm that has captured 93 million monthly users […]
View More Alibaba takes an 8% stake in Tencent-backed anime streaming site BilibiliIt isn’t just apps. China’s cinemas broke records during Lunar New Year
China celebrated Lunar New Year last week as hundreds of millions of people travelled to their hometowns. While many had longed to see their separated loved ones, others dreaded the weeklong holiday as relatives awkwardly caught up with them with questions like: “Why are you not married? How much do you earn?” Luckily, there are […]
View More It isn’t just apps. China’s cinemas broke records during Lunar New YearSmart cat shelter uses AI to let strays inside — but no dogs allowed
You might know Baidu for its search engine, but it’s looking to make a mark in the feline world too.
The Chinese internet giant has released what it’s claimed to be the first AI-powered smart cat shelter, which was put together by one of the company’s engineers, Wan Xi.
“At first, I just wanted to provide them with a warm place in winter with food and water that is not frozen,” Wan told state media.
As detailed in Baidu’s blog post, what’s novel about this use of AI is the camera at the front of the shelter’s door.
For stray cats, winter is almost fatal. Using #AI and Baidu’s #EasyDL platform, a Baidu engineer has devised an AI Smart Cattery to shelter stray cats and help them survive Beijing’s cold winter. This is the story behind – a story that has melted many hearts❤️🐱#techforgood pic.twitter.com/TlDRgkMe9P
— Baidu Inc. (@Baidu_Inc) January 31, 2019 Read more…
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View More Smart cat shelter uses AI to let strays inside — but no dogs allowedTencent moves into automotive with $150M joint venture
China’s internet firms are getting pally with giant state-owned automakers as they look to deploy their artificial intelligence and cloud computing services across traditional industries. Ride-hailing startup Didi Chuxing, which owns Uber China, announced earlier this week a new joint venture with state-owned BAIC. Hot on the heels came another entity set up between Tencent and the […]
View More Tencent moves into automotive with $150M joint ventureAlibaba’s growth slows to lowest in 3 years
China’s Alibaba continues to see slowing expansion in the latest quarter, but the e-commerce giant’s effort to spur new growth from new arenas have started to bear fruit. The Hangzhou-based firm rang up $17 billion in revenue during the third quarter of 2019. That’s a 41 percent increase from the previous year but it also […]
View More Alibaba’s growth slows to lowest in 3 yearsAlibaba’s alternative to the app store reaches 230M daily users
WeChat isn’t the only one doubling down on lite apps. Ever since China’s messaging titan introduced “mini programs” two years ago, a handful of its peers including Alibaba and Baidu have followed with their own manifestations. Alipay, the payments solution affiliated with China’s ecommerce juggernaut Alibaba, today announced it surpassed 230 million daily active users and […]
View More Alibaba’s alternative to the app store reaches 230M daily users