Baidu, a Chinese search engine is now the second most prominent vendor in the world for smart speakers, as disclosed by Canalys report. According to the research firm, Baidu surpassed Google by taking over 17.3 percent of the global market.
In Q2 2019, it had 4.5 million shipments all over the world and an overwhelming year-to-year growth rate of 3,700 percent. Whereas, the number vendor is still Amazon, over 25 percent of the global market, with 6.6 million shipments.
Smart speakers of Baidu uses an AI platform, DuerOS. At first, the company collaborated with Teenage Engineering to hit the high end of the market by launching the Raven H speaker, which unfortunately failed to have impressive sales.
Baidu then focused on selling comparatively less expensive speakers, starting with Xiaodu speaker which cost 89 yuan, approximately $12. In the first quarter of 2019, Baidu defeated the local leader Alibaba, and now it crossed Google, according to Canalys.
Baidu and Google are not directly competing with each other as the significant market for Baidu is mainly China, whereas Google targets everywhere other than China.
The immense growth of Baidu in the domestic market shows an active and growing AI ecosystem of China. Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, has already said they will not be worried even if Google plans to expand itself in China again.
However, Google has many other options to expand itself globally. It recently introduced Nest Hub, previously known as Google Home Hub, in India, which is again a huge market. The price for the smart display by Google in India is 9,999 rupees, and it is bundled with Mi Security Camera of Xiaomi as a promotion for launch.
Playing on differ grounds, Baidu and Google are, in a way competing with each other and exciting to see whether Google will get back its position or not.
Read next: Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri: Which Digital Assistant is the Best?
In Q2 2019, it had 4.5 million shipments all over the world and an overwhelming year-to-year growth rate of 3,700 percent. Whereas, the number vendor is still Amazon, over 25 percent of the global market, with 6.6 million shipments.
Smart speakers of Baidu uses an AI platform, DuerOS. At first, the company collaborated with Teenage Engineering to hit the high end of the market by launching the Raven H speaker, which unfortunately failed to have impressive sales.
Baidu then focused on selling comparatively less expensive speakers, starting with Xiaodu speaker which cost 89 yuan, approximately $12. In the first quarter of 2019, Baidu defeated the local leader Alibaba, and now it crossed Google, according to Canalys.
Baidu and Google are not directly competing with each other as the significant market for Baidu is mainly China, whereas Google targets everywhere other than China.
The immense growth of Baidu in the domestic market shows an active and growing AI ecosystem of China. Robin Li, CEO of Baidu, has already said they will not be worried even if Google plans to expand itself in China again.
However, Google has many other options to expand itself globally. It recently introduced Nest Hub, previously known as Google Home Hub, in India, which is again a huge market. The price for the smart display by Google in India is 9,999 rupees, and it is bundled with Mi Security Camera of Xiaomi as a promotion for launch.
Playing on differ grounds, Baidu and Google are, in a way competing with each other and exciting to see whether Google will get back its position or not.
Read next: Alexa, Google Assistant, Siri: Which Digital Assistant is the Best?
