Baidu Inc.’s spate of acquisitions is starting to show a trend. Artificial intelligence and virtual reality are the search giant’s favorite dishes these days, and the Chinese startup Raven Tech is the latest item from the menu.
Just two days after Baidu Ventures said it joined a Series B investment in 8i, a U.S. virtual/augmented reality startup, the mother company announced the purchase of Beijing-based Raven. The cost wasn’t disclosed, but I’m guessing it’s south of $100 million.
Raven Tech has been plugging away at voice input and natural-language processing, and integrating those technologies into practical applications. For example, you can use it to voice chat with friends about dinner plans, and Raven Tech will connect with smartphone apps to help you scout for restaurants and advise on transportation options. It also has a smarthome hub, not unlike Amazon.com’s Alexa-powered Echo, matching Baidu Chairman Robin Li’s belief that AI sits at the nexus of hardware and software.
Turnaround Plan
Baidu investors are starting to warm to the idea that the search-engine provider is making the right investments for future growth
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Source: Bloomberg