Well, this is one way to drive new tech growth. China’s answer to Google is betting big on robotaxis in China to revitalise its business.
So far, that is working. Baidu has a head start on Tesla and the faster than expected take-up of its robotaxi Apollo Go has boosted shares in the search engine and artificial intelligence group. But Baidu’s progress faces risks at home.
Baidu is leading the autonomous driving market in China. Its robotaxis are already in operation: its biggest presence is in the city of Wuhan where there is a fleet of 300 of the cars. Users can hail an unmanned, fully self-driving car for local taxi services. The 24-hour operations started this year.