Baidu Teams With Furniture Maker, AI Start-Up to Sell Smart Home Solutions

China's Baidu Inc. has partnered with a Guangdong-based furniture maker and an artificial intelligence start-up to launch an artificial intelligence-based home package retailer and the team kicked off operations with the opening of eight experience-based smart home stores. Yihua Lifestyle Technology Co., which makes flooring and furniture, and Beijing-based Xiaocong Smart Technology Co., which creates smart appliances, joined Baidu to open the Yihua retail centers in Beijing, Shanghai, and Zhengzhou in Henan province, reported tech news website DoNews. The parties plan to cooperate further to open 18 similar experience halls nationwide this year and in the future, create 300 outlets that combine real estate, elderly care, and community lifestyle stores to install smart home solutions in over 30,000 apartments. Under the deal, Baidu provides its DuerOS digital assistant as the control center for the smart home, while Xiaocong brings in connected home equipment such as lighting, sockets, curtains and door locks. Yihua provides the display venues.