China's Baidu says it expects 'limited' impact from U.S. chip curbs

Chinese tech institution Baidu expects that interaction from U.S. spot sanctions connected its businesses volition beryllium "limited," a institution enforcement said connected Tuesday during a Q&A league of its 3rd 4th net call.

In October, the United States imposed export controls limiting American businesses from selling semiconductors and chipmaking equipment to Chinese spot manufacturers.

"We deliberation the interaction is rather constricted successful the adjacent future," said Dou Shen, enforcement vice president and caput of AI Cloud group, successful effect to an assemblage member's question astir however the curbs volition impact Baidu's quality to turn its artificial intelligence cloud computing limb and autonomous driving businesses, which beryllium connected precocious AI chips.

"A ample information of our AI Cloud concern and adjacent wider AI concern does not trust excessively overmuch connected the highly precocious chips," said Shen.Baidu besides runs a robotaxi business, Apollo Go, which has secured permits successful Beijing, Wuhan and Chongqing's Yongchuan District to tally a afloat driverless commercialized robotaxi work successful those places.

"And for the portion of our businesses that request precocious chips, we person already stocked capable successful manus to enactment our concern successful the adjacent term," helium said.

Shen added that Baidu develops its ain AI chip, named Kunlun. He said Baidu has already started to usage Kunlun spot to enactment immoderate large-scale AI-computing tasks internally and to service outer customers.

"Because we person afloat stack of AI capabilities from chips to frameworks to instauration models and to exertion software, we tin execute overmuch higher ratio arsenic we optimize the AI tasks from extremity to end," Shen said.

He added that automotive chips are not connected the prohibited list. "So, this means that successful the adjacent future, in-vehicle computing is not affected," helium said.

An expert told CNBC's "Squawk Box Asia" Wednesday that Baidu is "absolutely" a apical pick, citing spot resilience arsenic 1 of the reasons.

"They are diversifying the manufacturing into their ain installation and starting to usage their ain chips, Kunlun, for precocious applications," said James Lee, a U.S. and China net expert from Mizuho Securities.

Baidu posted yesterday a better-than-expected summation successful gross aft outgo cuts bolstered its bottommost line. Online advertizing besides performed amended than expected contempt challenging economical conditions specified arsenic Covid restrictions and inflation.

Baidu banal roseate 2.61% Wednesday and is down 35.7% twelvemonth to date.