BMW China Partnership Shows That Baidu Inc Is On The Right AI Track

The past few months have been a roller coaster ride for China digital search giant Baidu Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:BIDU). From the beginning of April to the middle of May, BIDU stock rallied from $220 to $280 thanks to resurgent strength in China technology stocks and a really strong double-beat-and-raise first-quarter earnings report which underscored strengthening long-term fundamentals. But then Baidu stock dropped off a cliff in May after the company announced that its Chief Operating Officer, former Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) executive Qi Lu, would be stepping down and transitioning to part-time duties at BIDU. Lu was widely considered to be the "AI guy" at Baidu, and AI is at the core of Baidu's growth engine. Thus, losing Lu was a big hit and Baidu stock dropped to below $240.