Chinese internet major Baidu reported a fall in quarterly revenue on Wednesday, hit by sluggish domestic consumption even as the company ramped up its artificial intelligence drive and overseas robotaxi ambitions.Baidu posted revenue of 32.7 billion yuan ($4.56 billion) in the April-June quarter, a 4% year-on-year decline, according to its filing with the Hong Kong Stock Exchange. Revenue from its core online marketing business dropped 15% to 16.2 billion yuan, AFP reported.The Beijing-based operator of China’s largest search engine remains highly exposed to consumer spending cycles, which have been dampened by a prolonged property market downturn, high unemployment and ongoing trade friction with Washington. Official data last week showed retail sales growth in July lagging forecasts, underscoring the fragility in demand.Baidu said its net profit for the quarter came in at 7.3 billion yuan, up 33% from a year earlier but down 5% from the previous quarter.The company has in recent years bet aggressively on artificial intelligence, joining Tencent, Alibaba and ByteDance in a crowded race. It is also expanding its autonomous driving portfolio overseas.This month, Baidu and Lyft announced plans to introduce robotaxis on the rideshare platform in Germany and Britain by 2026, subject to regulatory clearances. In July, Baidu said in a joint statement with Uber that it would roll out driverless cars on the rival platform in Asia and the Middle East later this year.
