Baidu Challenges Nvidia with New AI Chips Amid Market Volatility
Baidu unveiled two advanced AI semiconductors at its Baidu World conference, signaling a direct challenge to Nvidia's dominance. The M100 chip, optimized for inference tasks, launches in early 2026, while the M300—capable of both training and inference—arrives in 2027. These developments coincide with the release of Ernie 5.0, Baidu's multimodal large language model.
US-listed Baidu shares fluctuated sharply, rising 1.12% in pre-market trading after the announcement before closing down 2.28%. The market reaction reflects both Optimism about Baidu's AI ambitions and broader sector volatility.
Meanwhile, Alibaba's planned overhaul of its Tongyi AI platform underscores intensifying competition in China's tech sector. The rebranded Qwen platform will feature agentic capabilities and an international version, potentially reshaping the competitive landscape.
