BIDU Stock Pops as Baidu, Tesla Team Up on Self-Driving Deal

Posted by Admin April 29, 2024 Tech

Chinese tech giant Baidu BIDU rose 5.5% over the weekend after it agreed a mapping deal with Tesla TSLA in China.

Baidu will offer its Chinese maps to Tesla as it develops full self-driving (FSD), its plan for autonomous vehicle technology. Baidu already offers a car using the feature.

Baidu stock opened trading on April 29 at $104.88. Shares remain down 9% so far in 2024.

Baidu Stock: A Chinese Tech Star

Before China’s tech crackdown in 2020, Baidu was one of China’s three largest cloud companies along with Tencent TCEHY and Alibaba BABA. Baidu was building hyperscale data centers like those of American companies like Alphabet GOOG.

Its main niche at the time was search, giving it another close Google comparison. It remains China’s dominant search company with 60% of the market.

While the tech crackdown has done tremendous damage to Baidu stock, the company remains a global tech player. Last year it launched an AI chatbot called Ernie. It has more AI patents than any other Chinese company.

Baidu has been promising self-driving vehicles even longer than Tesla, but has won more government cooperation than the American company.

In 2015, a senior Baidu vice president promised self-driving by 2020. In 2022, Baidu launched the Apollo RT6, an autonomous car with a detachable steering wheel. Baidu won a permit to run robotaxis in Beijing last year.

The deal with Tesla is not unique. Baidu is also working on self-driving with Kia, a unit of Korea’s Hyundai HYMTF.

What Happens Next?

It’s important to note that Tesla’s deal with China is a two-way street. Baidu will be a global competitor as self-driving technology is rolled out.

On the date of publication, Dana Blankenhorn held a LONG position in GOOGL. The opinions expressed in this article are those of the writer, subject to the InvestorPlace.com Publishing Guidelines.

Dana Blankenhorn has been a financial and technology journalist since 1978. He is the author of Technology’s Big Bang: Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow with Moore’s Law, available at the Amazon Kindle store. Tweet him at @danablankenhorn, connect with him on Mastodon or subscribe to his Substack.