China’s Baidu posts rise in Q1 revenue as seeks to grow AI presence

Chinese internet giant Baidu on Wednesday posted a quarterly revenue increase of 3%, as the firm seeks to grow its presence in artificial intelligence and expand its robotaxi business abroad.

The Beijing-based firm operates China’s main search engine and has long been a key player in the domestic tech industry — but faces stiff competition both from traditional rivals like Tencent and Alibaba and a host of newer upstarts.

Baidu derives a large part of its revenue from advertising, a sector vulnerable to fluctuations in consumer sentiment, and has…