Chinmay Bidkar
17 January 2017, Beijing:
The leading Chinese language Internet search provider Baidu, today announced the appointment of Dr. Qi Lu as Baidu’s Group President and Chief Operating Officer, in charge of products, technology, sales, marketing and operations, effective immediately.
Qi Lu, who was an executive vice president at Microsoft and headed its unit in charge of Office, Bing and Skype until last September, will help develop artificial intelligence as a key strategic focus for Baidu over the next decade as per Reuters report.
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“We are delighted to welcome Dr. Qi Lu to our senior executive team,” said Robin Li, Baidu’s Chairman and Group CEO, “Dr. Lu possesses a wealth of leadership and management experience, and is a leading authority in the area of artificial intelligence. I am confident that Dr. Lu will make major contributions to the overall strength of our management and technology. To achieve our goals, especially in artificial intelligence, which is a key strategic focus for the next decade, we will need to continue attracting the best global talent. With Dr. Lu on board, we are confident that our strategy will be executed smoothly and Baidu will become a world-class technology company and global leader in AI.”
“I am delighted to join Baidu,” said Dr. Lu. “Baidu is well known as one of China’s top technology companies, and is already recognized on the global stage as a leader in AI. I am excited to help realize Baidu’s visionary AI strategy. To be part of Baidu’s evolution into a world-class technology company for the AI-era is a tremendous opportunity. Under Robin’s leadership, I look forward to working with the entire Baidu team to create a true global technology leader.”
As a technology-based media company, Baidu aims to provide the best and most equitable way for people to find what they’re looking for. In addition to serving individual Internet search users, Baidu provides an effective platform for businesses to reach potential customers.
The company launched a $200 million fund in October to focus on artificial intelligence, augmented reality and deep learning, followed by a $3 billion fund announced in September to target mid and late stage startups. (Image- David Paul Morris/Bloomberg)