Baidu Venture to bet on AI and VR firms ? Business

Baidu Inc said on Tuesday that it has launched its first venture capital firm focusing on artificial intelligence - the Chinese online search behemoth's latest effort to stake out a spot in the burgeoning technology field. Called Baidu Venture, the new company will focus on early-stage projects in artificial intelligence and other next-generation technologies, such as augmented reality and virtual reality, according to a statement from Nasdaq-listed Baidu. Robin Li, Baidu's chief executive officer, is the chairman of the venture capital firm. For its first stage, the firm is equipped with an initial investment fund of US 200 million. Baidu said in its statement that the company would be an independent entity, separate from the company's existing investment and acquisition team, so that it could "use an innovative evaluation mechanism to speed up the decision-making process and make investments more efficient."