Baidu CEO Engineers $66 Billion Comeback After Missteps
- China’s largest internet search firm debuts in Hong Kong
- Baidu’s AI efforts will be rewarded, Li says in interview
Baidu Inc.’s stock offering in Hong Kong Tuesday marks an unlikely resurgence for founder Robin Li, who has fought his way back to relevance in China’s technology industry after squandering a near-monopoly in search.
The internet giant raised $3.1 billion in the biggest homecoming by a U.S.-traded Chinese firm in the city since JD.com Inc. last June. Li’s firm has more than tripled its valuation from the trough last March, with about half the gains coming in the past three months as Baidu’s bets in AI finally start to pay off in areas like cloud and electric vehicles. It’s a rare stretch during which the company has outperformed larger rivals Alibaba Group Holding Ltd. and Tencent Holdings Ltd., whose shares have struggled in the wake of China’s campaign to crack down on its freewheeling tech industry.