Baidu Creates $140 Million Fund to Back ChatGPT-Like Startups
- IDG Capital will help gauge pitches from prospective founders
- Company seeks to use its Ernie Bot to fire up China’s AI scene
The Baidu Technology Park in Beijing.
Source: Bloomberg
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Baidu Inc. has set aside 1 billion yuan ($140 million) to fund Chinese startups that explore generative AI, joining a global investment wave keen on riding a frenzy around ChatGPT-like services.
China’s internet search leader will use the pool to incubate projects built atop its Ernie AI model, in deployments as high as 10 million yuan apiece, Baidu said in a statement Wednesday. Venture investors including IDG Capital will take and judge pitches from founders, who then build demo products before receiving a verdict on whether they get seed funding, Baidu said.