This Chinese tech giant was 2018's most active corporate investor in AI startups

China's largest search engine, with 70% of the search market, has been facing deeply negative perceptions and increased competition for advertising from the likes of Tencent's WeChat, China's all-in-one app, and newer arrivals like Bytedance, with its news and short video apps. Nevertheless, Baidu on Feb. 21 beat expectations on fourth-quarter revenues, which came in at $3.96 billion, even as it posted a 50% drop in net profit for the quarter. It recorded $14.88 billion in revenues for the year and $4 billion in net profit, and reported strong growth in users for its mobile app and voice-recognition software. Baidu's heavily reliant on ad earnings for the moment--but it's trying to change that. It has set high goals for developing artificial intelligence, from self-driving cars to personal assistants, in the hopes that it will dominate the field in China and beyond.