Baidu spins off its semiconductor unit Kunlun into a standalone company- PingWes...

Baidu spins off its semiconductor unit Kunlun into a standalone company- PingWest

Baidu spins off its semiconductor unit Kunlun into a standalone company

June 26, 2021 1:20 am

Baidu has confirmed that its chipmaking arm will continue as an independent company – Kunlun Chip (Beijing) Technology Company. Ouyang Jian, the chief architect of Baidu chip, will become the CEO of Kunlun Chip.

Details: The Chinese search engine giant officially had announced it will spin off its semiconductor branch into an independent company, tech news outlet 36Kr reported on Friday. 

“Under such historical opportunities, Baidu has established a new company based on its accumulation in the field of computing chips in the past 10 years,” Ouyang said on Friday. “It will continue to increase its investment in innovation and build a leading company in the field of intelligent computing and semiconductors.”

The Kunlun chip is a general-purpose cloud AI chip independently developed by Baidu. It is designed for cloud and edge computing of deep learning and machine learning algorithms. The chips are currently mostly used on Baidu’s own smart electric vehicles (EV) and cloud computing.

The first-generation Kunlun chip was mass-produced in early 2020. The second-generation chip is set to start mass production in the second half of 2021. According to the company, the second-generation chip provides AI performance that is three times higher than the first-generation.

"In the future, Kunlun will further increase its R&D in AI chips and continue to work closely with Baidu. At the same time, it will accelerate the pace of industrialization in various areas and integrate high-performance computing, empowering more regions and more enterprises to achieve intelligent upgrades," said the search engine giant.

Context: In March, Baidu raised funds for its chip unit at a valuation of $2 billion. The round was led by Chinese private equity firm CITIC Private Equity Funds Management. Other investors include IDG Capital and Legend Capital.

Semiconductors and artificial intelligence are two key technologies China is hoping to boost its expertise and strength in. Previously, China indicated that it aims to supply 75% of its semiconductor demands with domestically manufactured chips by 2025. By 2035, the country endeavors to be fully self-sufficient in the semiconductor market.

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