Baidu's voice assistant valued at $2.9bn after investment
Chinese internet giant Baidu announced that its voice assistant was valued at $2.9bn following a capital raise for an undisclosed amount of money.
Citic Private Equity, Baidu Capital (Baidu’s investment arm) and IDG Capital participated in the funding round.
The voice assistant, called DuerOS, allows devices to use Baidu’s voice assistant so users can communicate with hardware by speaking to it.
DuerOS is also an open platform, meaning that other hardware makers can also install it on their devices.
Over the past couple of years, Baidu has faced rising competition in search as Chinese internet users continue to move away from web browsers to so-called “super apps” like Tencent’s WeChat. This new division could gain importance for the company in the near future.
Baidu said the investment into the Smart Living Group is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2020.
Baidu is also in talks with investors to raise up to $2bn over three years for a new biotech company.