Baidu
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Baidu Responds to CEO Flight Expenses: “Standard and Reasonable,” Common Practice at Major Companies
Baidu’s Q1 2025 earnings revealed a modest revenue increase and a strong net profit surge. The report’s focus, however, shifted to disclosed payments for CEO Robin Li’s private plane use. Baidu stated these expenses, already detailed in the annual report, were approved, standard practice, and based on market rates. While the earnings report revealed overall performance details, the specifics of the plane-related expenses weren’t itemized.
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Robin Li: Baidu Prioritizes AI Development in Real-World Applications Over Leading Every Niche
Baidu’s Q1 2025 revenue rose 3% year-over-year to ¥32.45B ($4.47B), beating estimates, though non-GAAP net profit fell 8% to ¥6.47B amid increased AI R&D investments. CEO Robin Li emphasized prioritizing applied AI innovations over foundational models, announcing development of Ernie 5.0 and plans to open-source Ernie 4.5 by June 30. The company aims to commercialize digital human technology and scale its autonomous driving unit, Apollo Go, which operates 1,000 driverless vehicles in 15 cities. Ride-hailing orders surged 75% to 1.4M trips in Q1, totaling 11M cumulative journeys. Li projected profitability through cost reductions and operational scaling, positioning Apollo Go as a future growth engine.
