Baidu Awards $2 Million to Two Technical Teams; Robin Li Calls Technology Its Real Competitiveness

Li said at the internal event that the Baidu Highest Award is a very typical embodiment of Baidu's technology belief. He said Baidu has believed in technology since its first day, and many technologies were recognized only after 10 or 15 years of persistence. He said the company is good at persisting, has patience, determination and confidence, and recognizes the value of technology, which he called Baidu's real competitiveness.

The two winning teams were Tianchi and dodo. Tianchi focuses on trillion-level MoE large models and independently developed Baidu's Tianchi supernode architecture. dodo builds enterprise AI employees and serves as a core vehicle for internalizing AI in the organization and a best-practice platform for agents entering Baidu's workplace.

Li said the award may mark the beginning of a long journey for the winning teams. He cited Xiantong, one of the 2015 Baidu Highest Award winners, which worked on chips. At the time, few people understood the choice, and the team had a difficult first decade or so while outsiders questioned why Baidu was making chips. After more than 10 years of persistence, he said, Baidu has seen rapid revenue growth, expanding profits and recognition from capital markets.

He also cited Linghang, one of the 2021 winners, which worked on autonomous driving. Li said Luobo Kuaipao later achieved a commanding lead in ride orders, and Baidu's autonomous driving technology now stands in the global first tier. That, too, took a journey of more than a decade to reach, he said.

Li said he hoped everyone would work together, persist in what they persist in and believe in what they believe, and become the biggest beneficiaries of the era. He called for creating an era belonging to technology believers and every Baidu person.

The Baidu Highest Award was established in July 2010 to encourage small teams to achieve big things. It is Baidu's highest-level award and gives each winning team $1 million. Projects must meet three criteria: the project must be significant, results must far exceed expectations, and the team must be small, with no more than 10 members. This year marked the 16th edition of the award. Speech recognition, deep learning platforms, large models and many other AI technologies have won in the past, with cumulative prize money nearing RMB 400 million.