Baidu And Xiaomi Enter Into Partnership To Establish In-Depth Cooperation

Leveraging the two companies' capabilities in artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT), the new partnership aims to make users' experience more compelling

Beijing, China (Marketwired) - Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU) and Chinese consumer technology company Xiaomi today announced that the companies have entered into a partnership to establish in-depth cooperation, leveraging the two companies' strengths in artificial intelligence (AI) and Internet of Things (IoT) in order to offer an enhanced experience to users in consumer electronics and smart devices.

The partnership, revealed at Xiaomi's first IoT Developer Conference, marks a significant step in boosting China's smart manufacturing with advanced technologies including AI, IoT and big data. Connecting AI and IoT will be a driving force to upgrade the manufacturing industry.

"The two companies have joined forces in forming a strong partnership to make users' experience more compelling, moving on to the next stage in AI development," Baidu Vice Chairman, Group President and COO, Qi Lu, said. "Xiaomi has accumulated solid experience in smart hardware, big data and established a smart device ecosystem. It is the world's leading company in the IoT industry. Baidu has strong technological fundamentals in AI, and with Baidu's conversational AI system DuerOS, we are using our world-leading AI technologies and information ecosystems to support the development of the IoT industry," he said.

"Xiaomi has achieved significant breakthroughs in core artificial intelligence technologies and products, and Baidu has deep experience in artificial intelligence technologies, including solid capabilities in voice, images, natural language processing and deep learning. We are delighted to reach a strategic partnership in artificial intelligence with Baidu. This powerful collaboration between the two companies will enable more people to experience the excitement of using AI technologies," said Lei Jun, Founder, Chairman and CEO of Xiaomi.

Currently, Xiaomi has more than 280 million active users worldwide, and has accumulated a huge amount of data. Xiaomi's IoT platform has more than 85 million connected devices, making it the world's largest smart hardware platform. Through the launch of the Mi AI Speaker this year, Xiaomi demonstrated AI capabilities applied to its ever-growing IoT platform, and its commitment to further application of its continuing research into AI.

As leaders in AI and IoT, Baidu and Xiaomi will apply AI technologies in more real-life scenarios and provide better experiences to users through the partnership. The two companies will start in-depth cooperation in voice, computer vision, natural language processing, knowledge graph, deep learning, augmented reality and virtual reality. In the future, the two companies will be able to provide users with better experience as they are able to understand real scenarios, users and their needs better by integrating AI with IoT.

The IoT industry is promising and has enormous potential, and the applications of AI technologies are supporting its development. As a leader in AI, Baidu is using its DuerOS conversational AI system to support the development of IoT industry. In July, Badu launched the DuerOS open platform to make voice-enabled devices that can hear, understand and fulfill users' needs. DuerOS has since added more than 130 partners and is embedded in products including smart phones, TVs, speakers, smart watches and home appliances. DuerOS has created an open platform offering AI technologies to developers who can create their IoT devices at lower costs and with fewer barriers to entry.

About Baidu
Baidu, Inc. is the leading Chinese language Internet search provider. Baidu aims to make a complex world simpler through technology. Baidu's ADSs trade on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the symbol "BIDU". Currently, ten ADSs represent one Class A ordinary share.

About Xiaomi
Xiaomi was founded in 2010 by serial entrepreneur Lei Jun based on the vision "innovation for everyone". We believe that high-quality products built with cutting-edge technology should be made accessible to everyone. We create remarkable hardware, software, and Internet services for and with the help of our Mi fans. We incorporate their feedback into our product range, which currently includes Mi and Redmi smartphones, Mi TVs and set-top boxes, Mi routers, and Mi Ecosystem products including smart home products, wearables and other accessories. With presence in over 30 countries and regions, Xiaomi is expanding its footprint across the world to become a global brand.