On May 8, Xiaodu, the smart device brand from tech giant Baidu, confirmed with Chinese media outlets that it will be launching a brand-new smartphone, with further development details to be released in the following week. This news was reported by Shanghai-based platform The Paper. Xiaodu also shared that the new product will not be incorporating its Artificial Intelligence (AI) feature, ERNIEBot.
Since 2018, the company has released several smart devices, ranging from speakers to earphones and from hotel delivery robots to tablets utilized to enhance the learning process. It is equipped with software called DuerOS. September 2020 saw the start of its independent financing venture, initiated by Baidu Capital and CPE, while followed by IDG Capital, with a total brand value of approximately 27.6 USD (20 billion Chinese Yuan). Five months later, the company managed to achieve a B+ with a 35.5 Chinese Yuan (7.5 billion USD) valuation.
Baidu, founded by the Chinese entrepreneur Robin Li Yanhong, is one of the biggest tech companies in the world and works in the field of AI, search engine, and other tech-related initiatives. With a booming consumer market and increasing AI usage, the company is looking to capitalize on the development of the latest technology for smartphones as a part of its continuous innovation goals.
