Baidu’s Dual Engine: AI and Autonomous Driving Fuel Growth Trajectory

Chinese technology leader Baidu is demonstrating remarkable momentum, powered by significant advancements in two transformative sectors: artificial intelligence and driverless vehicles. As numerous tech firms navigate the complexities of the AI era, Baidu appears to be carving out a distinct and successful path. This strategic focus has propelled its shares to gains exceeding 40% since the start of the year, prompting investors to assess the sustainability of this upward trend.

Market Dynamics and Analyst Confidence

Recent trading activity highlights significant investor sentiment. Following a sharp decline of up to 7% on Tuesday, the stock rebounded strongly with a 6.3% advance on Wednesday, a pattern often indicative of profit-taking followed by renewed confidence. Technically, the Relative Strength Index (RSI) reading of 17.5 suggests the shares are deeply in oversold territory.

Market experts are taking note of Baidu’s fundamental progress. Arete Research upgraded its rating on the stock from “Sell” to “Buy,” establishing a price target of $143. This optimistic view was echoed by other major institutions; Jefferies Financial Group and Goldman Sachs both raised their targets to $157 and $154, respectively. The central question remains whether Baidu can continue to meet the high expectations surrounding its AI and autonomy initiatives over the long term.

Global Ambitions for Autonomous Mobility

A major milestone was achieved by Baidu’s autonomous taxi subsidiary, Apollo Go, which secured a groundbreaking testing permit for self-driving vehicles in Dubai. This approval, a first for any company in the region, covers 50 test licenses. The fleet commenced operations in designated urban areas in August, marking a significant step in Baidu’s strategy to expand its autonomous mobility solutions on a global scale.

Should investors sell immediately? Or is it worth buying Baidu?

The company’s long-term vision for this segment is even more ambitious. Baidu has outlined plans to grow its fleet of fully driverless vehicles to more than 1,000 units by 2028, signaling its conviction that autonomous driving technology will be a primary engine for future growth.

Building an Independent AI Ecosystem

Concurrent with its advances in autonomous vehicles, Baidu is aggressively pursuing greater self-sufficiency in artificial intelligence. A key part of this strategy involves the development and deployment of its proprietary Kunlun chips, which are used to train its AI models. This move reduces reliance on external semiconductor suppliers.

At the Wave Summit in September 2025, the company unveiled its new reasoning model, ERNIE X1.1. A notable success story is the Qianfan platform, which recently launched the visual understanding model Qianfan-VL. This model was developed entirely on Baidu’s in-house Kunlun P800 chip. The commercial payoff from these efforts is clear: revenue from the Baidu AI Cloud surged by 27% year-over-year, reaching 6.5 billion RMB. The company’s integrated approach, controlling both the hardware and software layers of its AI stack, appears to be yielding substantial results.