Pulse2 Technology and Social Media News » Baidu

Chinese Travel Search Company Qunar Planning U.S. IPO

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 13:35:12 +0000

Qunar.com is a Chinese travel search website that is partially owned by Baidu Inc. Qunar is planning to have an IPO in the U.S. as they believe that consumer demand for their services will continuously increase. Qunar.com’s revenue is expected to double this year. Qunar broke even in 2010 and sales more than doubled to “a few hundred million” yuan stated Qunar.com CEO CC Zhuang.

The website gets a majority of their revenue from cost-per-click travel advertisements. They expect to raise additional funding from U.S. investors after selling a $306 million stake to Baidu.

“We are a unique platform that connects the traditional IT system of airlines and hotels with massive information searches on the Internet,” stated Zhuang. Qunar.com attracts visitors by offering flight and hotel booking information that is not limited to specific vendors.

[Bloomberg]

Baidu’s Web Browser Looks Suspiciously Like Google Chrome

Amit Chowdhry — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 21:00:59 +0000

Baidu, also known as the company that is often times coined as “the Google of China,” has launched a beta version of their first web browser. The browser looks suspiciously just like the Google Chrome browser. The Baidu web browser has a single web address toolbar at the top and the browser home page gives access to an app market just like the Chrome Web Store. Opened applications appear in a new tab. Baidu’s new web browser can be downloaded to Windows XP, Vista, and Windows 7 users only so far. [CNET]

Chinese Government Punishing Baidu For Illegal Music Downloads

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 25 Apr 2011 18:24:44 +0000

The Chinese government is penalizing Baidu.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU) for allowing users to download music illegally. The government is penalizing 14 different websites for illegal music downloads, which include Baidu. The Xinhua news agency in China reported this matter today. These websites were repeatedly warned about the illegal music downloads.

Baidu spokesman Kaiser Kuo said that the company will act quickly to remove links that were identified by the government. “We are aware that songs require approval and have sought to comply with previous notifications from the ministry of culture. But search engine indexing is a continuous process and some files may have reappeared in results,” stated Kuo.

Baidu plans on launching a licensed music search in May. They have an agreement in place with the Music Copyright Society of China to pay them royalties for every song downloaded through Baidu Ting. The music service would be supported with advertising. Baidu’s MP3 music search option has been criticized by U.S. records labels for piracy issues.

[Reuters]

Baidu Planning To Launch A Mobile Operating System

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 29 Mar 2011 19:36:38 +0000

Baidu is a company that is known as the “Google of China.” Baidu will soon be building a mobile operating system that has purely a focus on search. Baidu is aiming to have their mobile devices launch immediately after being powered on and seeing a web search box right away according to Baidu co-founder Robin Li. [CNBC]

Anjuke Raises $50 Million In Round Led By Baidu

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 14 Mar 2011 21:46:52 +0000

Anjuke is a Chinese real estate website that has raised $50 million in funding led by Baidu.com with participation from Matrix Partners. Anjuke is a website where buyers, homeowners, and real estate agents can buy and sell properties online. Anjuke has about 800 employees across 20 offices and lists properties across 20 cities in China. Anjuke was founded in 2007 and is based in Shanghai. [TechCrunch]

Baidu Plans To Hire U.S. Engineers

Amit Chowdhry — Tue, 29 Jun 2010 17:01:13 +0000

Chinese search engine Baidu plans to hire software engineers from the U.S. starting next month. Baidu plans to hire 30 mid to senior level software engineers at a job fair on July 10th in Silicon Valley.

“Baidu believes that talent is the key to our success as a company, and we go where ever the best talent can be found, whether here in China or in Silicon Valley,” stated Baidu human resources director Zheng Bin. “As we develop more and more advanced search technologies, our need for world-class talent will only continue to increase.”

Analysts expect Baidu to win about half of Google China’s search revenue after the American search engine company shifted operations to Hong Kong.

[Reuters]

Baidu Receives $50 Million From Providence To Start A Video Subsidiary

Amit Chowdhry — Fri, 26 Feb 2010 17:59:15 +0000

Chinese search engine Baidu.com has received a $50 million investment from Providence Equity Partners to start a video subsidiary. The video service will be just like Hulu. Baidu was planning to invest $10 million of their own money in the project too. Baidu will have a majority stake in the venture. Baidu’s video website will be monetized by ads and there will be licensed premium content. The video website will most likely be called Qiyi.com. [paidContent]

Baidu Takes A Financial Hit Based On Spoiled Milk Controversy

Amit Chowdhry — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 18:54:00 +0000

Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU), also known as the Google of China has had a slow fourth quarter because of tainted milk controversy. The last quarter was the company’s first sales decline since they were listed on the NASDAQ in 2005. Baidu.com was accused of managing the searhc results on behalf of milk company Sanlu. Sanlu’s milk allegedly contained melamine thus poisoning and hospitalizing thousands of children.

Baidu denied the accusations but decided to remove the paid search advertisements of medical and pharmaceutical customers that have not filed for government licenses. The removal of these links reduced sales by 5%.

Baidu’s fourth quarter sales were about RMB902.1 million ($132.2 million), up 58% from the previous year in the same quarter. Baidu’s third quarter sales were RMB919.1 million. This quarter, Baidu expects their sales to be between RMB780 million and RMB800 million. Net profit for the fourth quarter was about RMB288.7 million, up from 31.3%.

China Wants Google and Baidu To Remove Pornography From Search Results

Amit Chowdhry — Mon, 05 Jan 2009 17:20:14 +0000

China has launched an initiative to push for the crackdown of pornography on search engines like Google Inc. (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU). Pornography is illegal in China, but it is easy to get a hold of it on the Internet. As ISPs in China discover pornography, they block it. Seven government agencies in China have gotten together to “purify the Internet’s cultural environment and protect the healthy development of minors.”

The announcement made by the government in China stated that Google and Baidu have failed to make efficient measures in removing links to pornography. The statement also included Sina and Sohu, several video websites, and forums. “If we find any violation, we will take action. So far, I haven’t seen any examples of violations,” stated Google China spokeswoman Cui Jin.

China has over 250 million Internet users. Any website that seems offensive or political has been banned. Within the last month, China blocked The New York Times website. During the 2008 Summer Olympics, many websites were reopened for viewing as part of a way to appease tourists.

[via AP]

Baidu’s Reputation Stained By Unlicensed Medical Product Supplier Ads

Amit Chowdhry — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 21:54:42 +0000

Baidu.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:BIDU), also known as “The Google of China” has been doing very well since they launched in 2002. CCTV, a government-controlled TV network in China has reported that Baidu.com allowed unlicensed medical supplier companies to win keyword auctions for higher rankings on search result pages. Ever since CCTV reported this news, Baidu’s shares have been dropping.

“There’s a very low tolerance for anyone that seems to be involved in exposing consumers to health risks in China,” stated Citigroup analyst Jason Brueschke [AP].

In response to the controvery, Baidu CEO Robin Li stated that all medical, beauty, and diet products must now show licenses before returning back to Baidu’s paid search ad results.

Baidu was also hit with controversy last year when the media reported that the search engine company supposedly repressed information about a tainted milk scare in China. Baidu responded by saying that dairy company Sanlu Group asked to exclude scandal news from search results, but they refused.

“We are doing this because we care. It is important to us. We want to be a responsible corporate citizen,” stated Li. “If I had to speculate, our traffic will be negatively affected in the short term.”