<p>Chinese search giant Baidu reported Wednesday that revenue fell by one per cent in 2022, after a gruelling year that hit tech-sector profits and slowed the world's second-largest economy.</p>.<p>The firm posted revenue of 123.7 billion yuan ($17.9 billion) for the latest fiscal year, down from 124.5 billion in 2021.</p>.<p>"2022 was a challenging year, but we used this period to prepare the company for better times," CEO Robin Li said.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/esop-sebi-expands-definition-of-employees-1193697.html" target="_blank">ESOP | Sebi expands definition of employees</a></strong></p>.<p>"In 2023, we believe we have a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue growth and we are now well positioned to make use of the opportunities that China's economic recovery offers us," he said.</p>.<p>The company, which operates China's biggest online search engine, identified long-term investments in artificial intelligence (AI) as part of its growth plans.</p>.<p>"We are poised to capitalise on the imminent inflection point in AI, unlocking exciting new opportunities across our entire business portfolio - from mobile ecosystem to AI Cloud, autonomous driving, smart devices, and beyond," Li said.</p>.<p>Baidu said this month it was developing an AI-powered chatbot as tech giants rush to match the success of ChatGPT, a hugely popular language app that has sparked a gold rush in AI technology.</p>.<p>Internal testing of the service, named "Ernie Bot", is expected to be completed in March.</p>.<p>Baidu has diversified in recent years into artificial intelligence, cloud computing and autonomous driving technologies as advertising revenue remained sluggish.</p>.<p>It is one of several Chinese tech titans, including Alibaba, Tencent and Netease, racing to expand after Beijing abruptly dropped its strict Covid rules in December and began easing a bruising crackdown on the sector.</p>.<p>Beijing had gotten tough on the tech industry since late 2020 as part of an effort to curb monopolistic practices and promote competition between internet platforms.</p>.<p>The strategy of record fines, torched IPOs and probes into major firms hit revenues and placed further strain on the ailing economy.</p>.<p>Combined revenue at China's internet companies shrank by just over one per cent to 1.46 trillion yuan in 2022, the first contraction in almost a decade, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.</p>
<p>Chinese search giant Baidu reported Wednesday that revenue fell by one per cent in 2022, after a gruelling year that hit tech-sector profits and slowed the world's second-largest economy.</p>.<p>The firm posted revenue of 123.7 billion yuan ($17.9 billion) for the latest fiscal year, down from 124.5 billion in 2021.</p>.<p>"2022 was a challenging year, but we used this period to prepare the company for better times," CEO Robin Li said.</p>.<p><strong>Also Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/opinion/esop-sebi-expands-definition-of-employees-1193697.html" target="_blank">ESOP | Sebi expands definition of employees</a></strong></p>.<p>"In 2023, we believe we have a clear path to reaccelerate our revenue growth and we are now well positioned to make use of the opportunities that China's economic recovery offers us," he said.</p>.<p>The company, which operates China's biggest online search engine, identified long-term investments in artificial intelligence (AI) as part of its growth plans.</p>.<p>"We are poised to capitalise on the imminent inflection point in AI, unlocking exciting new opportunities across our entire business portfolio - from mobile ecosystem to AI Cloud, autonomous driving, smart devices, and beyond," Li said.</p>.<p>Baidu said this month it was developing an AI-powered chatbot as tech giants rush to match the success of ChatGPT, a hugely popular language app that has sparked a gold rush in AI technology.</p>.<p>Internal testing of the service, named "Ernie Bot", is expected to be completed in March.</p>.<p>Baidu has diversified in recent years into artificial intelligence, cloud computing and autonomous driving technologies as advertising revenue remained sluggish.</p>.<p>It is one of several Chinese tech titans, including Alibaba, Tencent and Netease, racing to expand after Beijing abruptly dropped its strict Covid rules in December and began easing a bruising crackdown on the sector.</p>.<p>Beijing had gotten tough on the tech industry since late 2020 as part of an effort to curb monopolistic practices and promote competition between internet platforms.</p>.<p>The strategy of record fines, torched IPOs and probes into major firms hit revenues and placed further strain on the ailing economy.</p>.<p>Combined revenue at China's internet companies shrank by just over one per cent to 1.46 trillion yuan in 2022, the first contraction in almost a decade, according to data from the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology.</p>