SHENZHEN, China, April 17,
2024 /PRNewswire/ -- Baidu, Inc. (NASDAQ: BIDU and
HKEX: 9888) ("Baidu" or the "Company"), a leading AI company with
strong internet foundation, yesterday announced the launch of the second
ERNIE Cup Innovation Challenge. Following the success of the
inaugural competition, this year's challenge is open to
entrepreneurial teams focused on AI-native applications from around
the world, offering the chance to receive up to RMB 50 million in funds and resources.
This year's ERNIE Cup, unveiled at the Create 2024 Baidu AI
Developer Conference by Baidu Co-founder, Chairman, and CEO
Robin Li, substantially enhances
support for entrepreneurs, including more strategic investments,
business resources, and media exposure. Participants will not only
receive top-notch technical guidance and strong ecosystem support
but also have the opportunity to interact with an elite judging
panel consisting of Baidu AI experts and top investors as they
compete for the top prizes.
In May last year, Baidu launched the first ERNIE Cup Innovation
Challenge to promote the vibrant growth of the foundation model
ecosystem and assist entrepreneurs and developers in creating a
range of AI-native applications.
"In the first ERNIE Cup Innovation Challenge, we received nearly
1000 team registrations," Li noted at Create 2024. "Baidu provided nearly
RMB 100 million in investment support
to 15 winning teams and continued to provide comprehensive support
in technology, team, and resources."
Li further said that in the second
ERNIE Cup, Baidu will expand the project selection scope, set up
sub-venues, increase support for entrepreneurs, and provide more
sufficient investment funds and richer business
resources.
Registration began on April 16,
2024, remaining open until May 15,
2024. The challenge welcomes entrepreneurial and innovative
teams working on generative AI from around the world, from
domain-specific applications to agents or any area where foundation
models can solve problems and create value.
The champion, runner-up, and third-place teams will receive
funds and resources valued at RMB 10
million, RMB 5 million, and
RMB 2 million, respectively. This
year, the challenge also includes a new accolade called the
"Special Prize", which carries the remarkable opportunity for the
winning team to receive up to RMB 50
million in funds and resources.
This year, the ERNIE Cup has also introduced the YOUNG
competition, a specialized category designed for university
students. The competition offers university participants
encouragement awards, with a prize pool of up to RMB 1 million. Top-notch mentoring, beneficial
employment support, and a wealth of entrepreneurial resources are
also available for the participants. The YOUNG competition aims to
discover the future AI stars and provide a platform for students
eager to embrace and explore AI, encouraging them to create
innovative and practical AI-native applications.
Baidu has been at the forefront of AI investment for a decade,
creating a thriving ecosystem. ERNIE has emerged as China's leading AI foundation model with the
broadest range of applications, as ERNIE Bot garners 200 million
users while ERNIE API handles 200
million daily queries. As of April
2024, Baidu's deep learning framework, PaddlePaddle, has
attracted 12.95 million developers and has been utilized by 244,000
enterprises and institutional users, with 895,000 models in total
developed using the platform.
Baidu invites all aspiring AI
innovators to join in the adventure of shaping the future of AI
applications and contributing to a thriving AI ecosystem. For those
interested in participating, details and registration information
are available on the official ERNIE Cup website:
https://h5.eventnet.cn/ernie_cup/en/#/.
About Baidu
Founded in 2000, Baidu's mission is to make the complicated
world simpler through technology. Baidu is a leading AI company
with strong internet foundation, trading on the NASDAQ under "BIDU"
and HKEX under "9888." One Baidu ADS represents eight Class A
ordinary shares.
Media Contact
intlcomm@baidu.com
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SOURCE Baidu, Inc.