A girl walks previous the Baidu sales space on the China Worldwide Expertise Honest in Shanghai.
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GUANGZHOU, China — Chinese language search large Baidu is in talks to lift cash for a standalone synthetic intelligence semiconductor firm, an individual with information of the matter informed CNBC.
The transfer is emblematic of an ongoing push amongst China’s largest expertise corporations to spice up their prowess within the chip sector. And for Baidu, it marks an additional effort to diversify its enterprise properly past promoting.
Baidu’s Nasdaq-traded shares jumped greater than 3.5% after hours. They climbed 6.67% on Tuesday.
Baidu’s chip firm could be a subsidiary, with the search large prone to be the bulk shareholder, the individual stated. Enterprise capital corporations GGV and IDG Capital are concerned in early stage discussions to put money into Baidu’s chip agency, the supply added. Each corporations have in depth investments in China.
Baidu declined to remark when contacted by CNBC. IDG Capital was not instantly accessible for remark. Calls to GGV’s places of work in Singapore, Shanghai and Beijing went unanswered.
At the moment, Baidu has an in-house chip unit that has helped to develop its Kunlun semiconductors, designed to course of enormous quantities of information for synthetic intelligence purposes. However a standalone chip firm is seen serving to Baidu to higher commercialize its expertise, the supply stated.
The semiconductor enterprise would goal to promote chips to prospects in a number of industries together with automakers, that are at the moment dealing with a global chip shortage.
A standalone chip maker might additionally tie into different elements of Baidu’s companies, comparable to its driverless automobile software program.
Diversification flurry
